History  Of 

Prince  Edward 
County,  Virginia 


BURRELL 


SERKELEY 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA    . 


CHARLES     EDWARD     BURRELL,     LL.     B.,     D.     D. 
Minister,    First    Baptist    Church,    Farmville,    Va. 


A  History  of 


Prince  Edward  County 
Virginia 


FROM  ITS  FORMATION  IN  1753,  TO  THE  PRESENT 


CompUed  mainly  from 

Original   Records   and   Personally 

Contributed  Articles. 


With  a  Brief  Sketch  of  the  Beginnings  of  Virginia^ 

A  Summary  of  tjie  History  of  the  County  Seat^ 

And  a  Special  Chapter  on  the  Churches  of  the  County 


By  Charles  Edward  Burrell,  LL.  B.,  D.  D. 


THE  WILLIAMS  PRINTING  CO. 
RICHMOND.  VA. 
1922 


Copyright^  1922 

BY 

Chakles  Edward  Burrell,  LL.  B.,  D.  D. 

LOAN  STACK 


Printed  and  Bound  in  the  United  States  of  America^  1922, 


To  The 

Good  people  of  Prince  Edward  County^  Virginia; 

the  nolle   offspring   of   a  splendid   ancestry; 

this  work  is  most  humbly  dedicated. 


376 


Historians  ought  to  be  precise,  faithful,  and  unprej- 
udiced; and  neither  interest  nor  fear,  hatred  nor  affection, 
should  make  them  swerve  from  the  way  of  truth,  whose 
mother  is  history,  the  rival  of  time,  the  depositary  of  great 
actions,  witness  of  the  past,  example  to  the  present,  and 
monitor  to  the  future. — Cervantes. 

praecipuum   munus   annalium   reor,   ne   virtutes 


sileantur,  utque  pravis  dictis  factisque  ex  posteritate  et  in- 
famia  metus  sit. — Tactitus,  Annales  III.     65. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


FOKEWORD 

Prince  Edward  county  is  not  a  large  county.  The  pos- 
sible constituency  for  such  a  work  as  this  is,  therefore,  de- 
cidedly limited.  Hence,  in  order  that  it  shall  have  an  ade- 
quate circulation;  a  circulation  worthy  of  the  county;  it 
will  be  necessary  that  its  natural  appeal  shall  be  supple- 
mented by  county  pride.  The  urge  of  possible  profit  will 
not  be  sufficient  to  secure  for  it  any  large  reading  under 
the  circumstances.  The  author  entertains  no  expectation  of 
monetary  remuneration.  The  task  has,  with  him,  been  a 
real  work  of  love.  Prince  Edward  county  has  never  had 
a  "History"  published.  It  will  be  too  bad  if  there  is  not 
discovered  sufficient  pride  of  county  to  secure  for  this  be- 
lated effort  a  fitting  response. 

The  author  believes  that  such  county  pride  does 
exist  in  such  measure  as  will  make  welcome  this  effort  to 
make  permanent  some  of  the  splendid  history  of  the  county. 
Few  counties  of  Virginia  are  richer  in  historical  material 
than  is  Prince  Edward.  It  ought  to  have  been  published 
long  ere  this.  This  is  at  least  an  honest  effort  to  supply  the 
deficiency.  It  will  provide  a  real  starting  point  to  some 
future  more  serious  attempt  to  do  justice  to  a  great  subject. 
This  is  the  sincere  desire  of  the  present  writer. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


PREFACE 

This  unpretentious  volume  is  put  forth  in  the  sincere 
hope  that  it  may  prove  of  some  value  to  the  student  of  his- 
tory, as  well  as  to  the  present  life  of  the  Old  Dominion,  as 
it  is  contributed  to  by  Prince  Edward  county. 

Of  necessity,  the  record  must  be  fragmentary  and  faulty 
in  many  respects,  but  in  the  more  vital  things,  the  author 
ventures  the  hope  that  reasonable  accuracy  has  been  attained. 
He  is  a  pioneer  in-so-far  as  this  county  is  concerned. 

An  effort  has  been  made  to  link  up  the  present  with  the 
past  in  a  real  way,  hence  the  work  is  something  more  than 
a  mere  recital  of  past  events.  Much  of  present  events  and 
conditions,  together  with  the  life  story  of  many  now  living, 
contributors  to  the  sturdy  progress  of  affairs  in  this  part  of 
the  State,  is  included.  The  encyclopaedic  method  has  been 
deliberately  and  purposely  adopted.  The  orthodox  historian 
will  doubtless  be  shocked  at  this.  The  net  result  will  doubt- 
less be,  however,  that  the  lay  reader  will  find  it  all  the  more 
readable  and  interesting.  That  is  one  objective  aimed  at. 
A  serious  attempt  has  been  made  to  bring  the  study  down 
to  even  date,  and  this  could  be  the  more  easily  accomplished 
by  the  adoption  of  this  method.  "Ancient"  history  usually 
finds  but  the  "faithful  few"  really  interested. 

No  history  of  the  county  having  been  previously  pub- 
lished, the  present  worker  found  himself  beset  by  a  bewilder- 
ing mass  of  material.  Out  of  this  he  was  forced  to  make  se- 
lection in  a  most  arbitrary  fashion.  A  previously  mapped 
out  course  has  been  more  or  less  rigidly  adhered  to,  in  spite 
of  the  many  resulting  inequalities.  Doubtless  much  that 
is  worthy  of  inclusion  will  be  found  to  have  been  sacrificed, 
and  much  about  which  a  question  might  very  legitimately 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


be  raised  will  be  found  included.    This  is,  perhaps,  inevit- 
able.   All  could  not  be  used. 

Particular  attention  is  directed  to  the  chapter  on  "The 
Churches  of  Prince  Edward."  A  fine  history  of  the  county 
might  very  easily  be  erected  out  of  the  story  of  her  Churches. 
This  is,  perhaps,  the  first  time  in  Virginia  that  a  serious  at- 
tempt has  been  made,  in  a  county  history,  to  give  due  credit 
to  the  Churches  as  history-making  mediums. 

And  the  attention  of  the  reader  is  also  directed  to  the 
chapter  on  "Prince  Edward  county  in  the  World  War," 
where  the  most  complete  roster  and  record  of  all  Prince 
Edward  county  soldiers  and  sailors  who  served  in  that  ter- 
rible conflict,  ever  compiled  by  any  county,  after  any  war, 
is  to  be  found.  It  is  extremely  desirable  that  such  a  record 
shall  be  preserved  and  we  have  ventured  to  include  it  here. 

That  so  much  space  has  been  given  to  the  affairs  of  war 
requires,  perhaps,  some  word  of  explanation.  The  late  World 
War  cost,  in  terms  of  human  life,  10,000,000  soldiers  and 
sailors;  and  30,000,000  civilians,  who  but  for  that  sangui- 
nary event  might  be  living  today,  were  sacrificed.  In  terms 
of  money,  as  related  directly  to  the  objects  of  the  war,  it 
cost  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  billions  of  dollars ! 

What  "War"  means  to  the  United  States  will,  perhaps, 
best  be  understood,  if  we  can  apprehend  what  it  is  claim- 
ing as  its  proportion  of  our  national  revenues  It  is  per- 
haps but  little  realized  by  the  average  layman,  that  ninety 
per  cent,  of  our  revenues  go  to  pay  our  bills  to  "War."  Of 
this  alarming  proportion,  sixty-eight  per  cent,  goes  for  past 
wars,  and  twenty-two  per  cent,  for  the  maintenance  of  our 
present  Army  and  Navy.  Of  the  small  balance  remaining, 
education  receives  one  per  cent,  and  labor,  commerce,  and 
the  general  public  are  expected  to  divide  the  balance  amongst 
them ! 

And  all  this,  in  this  good  day  of  Our  Lord,  the  Prince 


8  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

of  Peace!  From  these  considerations  it  will  readily  be  seen 
that  "War"  has  not  been  given  undue  notice  in  this  volume, 
for  Prince  Edward  county  has  shared  in  due  proportion  in 
all  that  pertains  to  that  phase  of  national  life.  Humanity 
is  mortgaged  to  the  hilt  that  "War"  may  be  fed. 

America  simply  micst  lead  the  war- weary  nations  of  the 
earth  to  a  better  day.  The  author  breathes  a  fervent  prayer 
that  a  future  hi^orian  may  have  the  happy  privilege  to 
record  the  death  of  "War."  The  responsibility  of  leader- 
ship in  that  direction  is  upon  us.  We  must  not  falter  in 
leading  the  way  to  universal  disarmament,  and  to  ultimate 
peace. 

I  submit  the  book  to  the  public  in  the  satisfying  con- 
viction that  I  have  not  been  remiss  in  the  effort  to  ascertain 
and  to  record  the  truth  as  it  pertains  to  the  history  of  this 
part  of  the  Old  Dominion :  the  bare  and  simple  truth,  with- 
out fear  or  favor.  That  there  has  been  much  of  diligent 
research  will  be  made  manifest  by  a  reading  of  the  chapter 
on  "Bibliography."  And  I  have  done  my  best  to  make  the 
record  easily  readable.  It  is  enough  for  the  servant  that  he 
be  found  faithful  and,  in  this  my  humble  effort,  I  have 
striven  to  merit  that  conmiendation. 

1922.  C.  EDWARD  BURRELL. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


EXPLANATORY 

Perhaps  a  brief  note  respecting  some  archaic  terms, 
unavoidably  employed,  is  here  in  order,  so  that  the  reader 
may  readily  possess  the  definitions  necessary  to  a  proper 
understanding  of  some  passages  in  this  work. 

"Tithes."  "Titharle."  For  many  years,  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Colony,  taxes  were  levied,  not  on  property,  but 
on  persons  as  such,  so  that  a  "Tithable,"  generally  speaking, 
was  such  a  person  thus  subject  to  taxation;  usually  all  males 
above  sixteen  years  of  age  and  servants  of  both  sexes  above 
that  age.  The  "Tithe,"  therefore,  was  the  tax  thus  imposed 
upon  such  taxable  persons. 

"Pounds,  Shillings,  etc."  It  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  pound  was  not  the  pound  sterling.  The  pound 
here  spoken  of,  amounted  to  but  twenty  shillings,  i.  e.,  the 
equivalent  to  $3. 331/^.  The  shilling,  too,  was  not  the  modern 
shilling;  it  was  the  equivalent  to  16  2-3  cents. 

"The  Test."  In  Colonial  times  an  Oath  was  adminis- 
tered in  which  the  affiant  declared  it  to  be  his  belief  that 
there  is  not  the  "real  presence"  in  the  elements  of  the  Com- 
munion of  the  Lord's  Supper;  an  echo  of  Old  World  con- 
flicts.   This  was  the  "Test"  so-called. 

"Prison  Bounds."  This  was  an  area,  which  was  not 
in  any  case  to  exceed  ten  acres,  about  the  jail,  or  place  of 
confinement,  where  prisoners,  not  committed  for  treason  or 
felony,  had  liberty,  on  giving  proper  security  that  they  would 
not  break  "bounds"  but  would  continue  therein  until  dis- 
charged.  This  provision  was,  for  the  most  part,  for  the  bene- 
fit of  persons  imprisoned  for  debt.  This  privilege  was  to 
last  for  only  one  year. 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  One 
A  Short  Account  of  the  State  13 

Chapter  Two 
The  Genesis  of  Prince  Edward  Countj „ 21 

Chapier  Three 
The  Organization  of  Prince  Edward  County 27 

Chapter  Four 
The  Court   House   37 

Chapier  Five 
Farmville :   The  County  Seat 45 

Chapter  Six 
Prince  Edward  County  in  the  Revolutionary  Period 53 

Chapter  Seven 
Prince  Edward  County  in  the  War  of  1812-14 61 

Chapter  Eight 
Prince  Edward  County  in  the  War  Between  the  States 87 

Chapter  Nine 
Prince  Edward  County  in  the  Re-construction  Period 189 

Chapter  Ten 
Prince  Edward  County  in  the  World  War  195 

Chapter  Eleven 
The  Churches  of  Prince  Edward  211 


Chapter  Twelve 
The  Schools  of  Prince  Edward „ 291 

Chapter  Thirteen 
Prince  Edward  County  Biography  311 

Chapter  Fourteen 
"Who's  Who"  in  Prince  Edward  _ 345 

Chapter  Fifteen 
The  Judiciary  of  Prince  Edward  „ 363 

Chapter  Sixteen 
Agriculture  in  Prince  Edward 371 

Chapter  Seventeen 
Prince  Edward  County  Statistics  „ 375 

Chapter  Eighteen 
Miscellaneous   _ 383 

Chapter  Nineteen 
Bibliography    ~ 403 


A  dlfort  ArwMttt  of  tift  »tait 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  15 


A  SHORT  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  STATE 

A  proper  history  of  Prince  Edward  County  requires  that 
there  shall  precede  it,  a  brief  sketch  of  the  beginnings  of  the 
State  of  which  it  forms  an  honorable  part.  For  it  ought  al- 
ways to  be  remembered  that  Prince  Edward  County  is  a  part 
of  what  was  once  a  mighty  Principality  of  vast  dimensions. 

All  of  North  America  between  Nova  Scotia,  or  New 
Scotland,  on  the  north ;  and  Florida,  Land  of  Flowers,  on  the 
south;  was  once  known  as  "Virginia."  Queen  Elizabeth  of 
England,  to  which  crown  the  country  then  belonged,  was  so 
charmed  by  the  accounts  given  by  the  sea  captains  under 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  of  the  wonders  of  the  coasts  of  the  Caro- 
linas  in  1585,  that  she  named  the  whole  country  "Virginia," 
in  honor  of  herself,  the  "Virgin  Queen,"  of  which  designa- 
tion she  was  particularly  proud. 

All  of  Raleigh's  efforts  to  found  a  colony  on  those  shores 
were  doomed  to  failure.  The  fate  of  one  attempted  colony 
on  Roanoke  Island,  North  Carolina,  remains  a  pathetic  mys- 
tery to  this  day. 

However,  in  the  reign  of  James  I,  a  successful  settle- 
ment was  made  in  what  is  now  Virginia  proper.  A  Royal 
Charter,  granted  to  the  "Virginia  Company  of  London,"  in 
1606,  gave  to  that  body  the  right  to  found  a  colony  one  hun- 
dred miles  square,  anywhere  between  the  thirty-fourth  and 
the  forty-first  degrees  of  north  latitude;  that  would  be  be- 
tween the  mouth  of  Cape  Fear  river  in  North  Carolina,  and 
the  mouth  of  the  Hudson  river  in  New  York;  and  to  the 
"Virginia  Company  of  Plymouth,"  a  similar  right  between 
the  thirty-eighth  and  forty-fifth  degrees,  which  would  be 
between  the  Potomac  river  and  Nova  Scotia;  both  of  course, 
in  "Virginia"  as  then  constituted.  Either  Company  might 
occupy  in  the  overlapping  territory,  but  were  proscribed  from 


16  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

making  a  settlement  within  one  hundred  miles  of  each  other. 
Operating  under  this  charter,  the  "Virginia  Company  of 
London"  founded  the  settlement  of  Jamestown,  named  for 
James  I,  under  which  monarch  the  Charter  was  granted, 
on  May  13,  1607.  This  Settlement  thus  ante-dated  the  Ply- 
mouth Colony,  founded  under  the  Mayflower  Compact  by  13 
years,  though  what  glory  may  attach  to  being  the  first  Ameri- 
can Colony,  is  most  frequently  iascribed  to  the  "Pilgrim 
Fathers,"  who  made  their  landing  at  Plymouth  Rock,  from 
the  Mayflower,  in  1620.  This  mistake  has  arisen  from  a 
confused  interpretation  of  the  records,  and  that  in  turn,  from 
a  failure  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  the  Virginia  of  that 
period  extended  far  north  of  the  New  England  states  of  the 
present  day  and,  of  course,  embraced  Massachusetts  and  Ply- 
mouth Rock.  Both  the  Jamestown  Settlement,  and  the 
Plymouth  Settlement  were  therefore,  in  'Virginia' ;  the  Ja'mes- 
town  Settlement  being  prior  to  that  at  Plymouth  Rock,  as 
we  have  seen,  and  in  what  is  today,  Virginia  proper.  The 
Jamestown  Colony  was  conveyed  from  England  in  three 
small  vessels,  the  combined  tonnage  of  which,  was  less  than 
that  of  the  "Mayflower."  Indeed  the  Mayflower  herself  was 
partly  owned  by  men  then  living  at  Jamestown !  These  three 
were  the  Sarah  Constant,  100  tons;  the  Goodspeed,  40  tons; 
the  Discovery,  20  tons. 

The  "Virginia  Company  of  London"  was  granted  a  second 
Charter  in  1609,  under  the  terms  of  which  the  boundaries 
of  the  Jamestown  colony  were  extended  along  the  coast  for 
some  two  hundred  miles,  north  and  south,  from  Point  Com- 
fort, and  further,  "up  into  the  land  throughout  frolm  sea  to 
sea,  west  and  north-west,  and  also,  all  the  land  lying  within 
one  hundred  miles  along  the  coasts  of  both  seas."  Naturally, 
these  bounds  were  never  attained.  The  term  "from  sea  to 
sea"  could  have  had  but  one  construction  and  meant  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  and,  with  the  line  projected 
"west  and  north-west,"  embraced  practically  all  the  states 


History  of  Prince  Edward  Gowfity  17 

of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  with  a  part 
of  Minnesota,  as  well  as  nearly  all  the  Great  Lakes.  This 
territory,  with  that  already  granted  under  the  former 
Charter,  meant  that  this  Company  was  given  control  of  an 
immense  Principality.  As  things  then  were,  with  the  primi- 
tive methods  of  travel,  etc.,  it  was  a  practical  impossibility 
for  them  to  cover  such  vast  territories  or  to  come  into  actual 
possession  of  them.  As  a  simple  iniatter  of  fact,  they  did  not 
succeed  in  doing  so. 

To  the  latter  part  of  this  territory,  subsequently  known 
as  the  "Northwest  Territory,"  Virginia  did  actually  claim 
title  under  the  Charter  granted  the  "Virginia  Company  of 
London."  Moreover,  she  later  got  actual  title  by  conquest 
of  her  own  soldiers  under  George  Rogers  Clark,  who  oper- 
ated under  orders  from  the  famous  Patrick  Henry,  the  then 
Governor  of  the  State,  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 
However,  in  order  to  quiet  dissension,  she,  in  1784  ceded  it 
to  the  Federal  Government,  reserving  only  so  much  land 
therein  as  was  necessary  to  enable  her  to  fulfill  her  promise 
of  land  grants,  made  to  her  own  soldiers  who  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  and  Indian  Wars. 

The  Settlement  at  Jamestown  languished,  and  made 
little  or  no  progress,  till  about  1620,  but  soon  after  that 
time  it  began  to  grow  and  had  some  prosperity.  In  1622 
the  population  is  said  to  have  numbered  about  4,000  persons. 
Previous  to  this  time  there  had  been  a  period  known  as  the 
"Starving  Time,"  when  there  was  much  suffering  through 
the  failure  of  agriculture,  so  that  many  of  the  people  were 
forced  to  eke  out  a  precarious  existence  on  roots,  acorns, 
berries,  nuts,  herbs,  and  even  on  skins  and  snakes.  In  1620 
however,  and  from  then  on,  a  change  took  place.  There 
was  a  great  abundance  of  fruits,  vegetables,  and  grains.  Wine 
and  silk  were  made  in  considerable  quantities.  Some  60,000 
pounds  of  tobacco  were  produced  each  year.     Cattle  increased 


18  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

greatly  in  numbers.    The  Settlement  was  now,  at  last,  in  a 
prosperous  condition. 

At  about  this  time,  women  were  imported,  white  women 
of  course,  and  were  sold  to  the  colonists !  By  reason  of  com- 
petition, the  price  of  a  wife  rose  from  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds  of  tobacco,  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds ! 

Thus  far  the  settlers  had  succeeded  in  living  in  some 
measure  of  amity  with  the  Indians,  some  religious  work 
being  done  amongst  them.  Pocahontas,  daughter  of  King 
Powhatan,  whose  real  name  was  Matoax,  rescuer  of  Captain 
John  Smith,  was  the  first  convert  gained  from  amongst  these 
savage  peoples.  In  1613  she  was  married  to  John  Rolph,  an 
Englishman.  Her  baptismal  name  was  Rebecca.  In  1616 
she  went  with  her  husband  to  England,  where  her  eldest  son 
was  born,  and  where,  at  Gravesend,  she  died. 

But  on  Friday,  March  22,  1622,  occurred  the  great  and 
terrible  massacre  incited  by  Opeckankanough,  in  which  three 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  women,  and  children  were  ruthlessly 
slain,  and  the  cattle  driven  off,  so  that  the  renmant  of  the 
Settlement  were  left  sorely  distressed.  The  wily  and  savage 
Opeckankanough,  pretending  a  desire  to  become  a  Christian, 
so  beguiled  the  pious  head  of  the  College,  Mr.  Thorpe,  that 
he  took  much  pains  in  instructing  him  and  was  led  to  place 
considerable  confidence  in  his  sincerity,  but  on  that  fatal  Fri- 
day, that  good  man,  with  the  rest,  was  cruelly  massacred  ac- 
cording to  the  secret  plans  of  the  treacherous  savage,  who, 
under  the  mask  of  religion,  had  plotted  the  sudden  and  entire 
overthrow  of  the  English.  He  was  the  implacable  enemy  of 
the  white  man,  harboring  no  illusions  as  to  the  ultimate  fate 
of  the  Indian  if  the  white  man  were  suffered  to  gain  a  firm 
foothold  on  what  he  considered  to  be  his  soil.  He  died  as 
he  lived,  a  brave,  implacable  savage. 

The  progress  of  the  Settlement  was  seriously  retarded 
by  this  awful  event,  so  that  the  extension  of  the  frontiers 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  19 

was  very  greatly  delayed.  The  general  and  continued  hostility 
of  the  Indians,  which  succeeded  the  massacre,  and  which  seri- 
ously threatened  the  very  life  of  the  Settlement,  also  hin- 
dered development  and  growth.  However,  with  true  Anglo- 
Saxon  courage,  the  colonists  ultimately  recovered  themselves 
and  development  began  in  real  earnest,  never  again  to  be 
seriously  threatened. 

Shortly  before  the  massacre  of  1622  (1619),  a  Dutch  ves- 
sel, probably  a  camouflage  for  the  "Treasurer,"  brought  into 
Jamestown,  the  first  cargo  of  negro  slaves  that  were  ever 
introduced  into  America,  and  here  was  sown  the  seed  that 
resulted  in  the  horrors  of  the  War  Between  the  States,  of 
1861-1865. 


®I(f  (6ema\s  at  l^fmte  E»»arli  ffinuntg 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  23 


THE  GENESIS  OF  PRINCE  EDWARD   COUNTY 

The  original  division  of  the  Old  Dominion  into  "Shires," 
after  the  English  fashion;  as  performed  by  the  Assembly  of 
1624,  at  which  time  the  State  was  divided  into  eight  such 
"Shires,"  as  follows:  James  City;  Henrico;  Charles  City; 
Elizabeth  City ;  Warrick  Rivter ;  Warrosquyoake ;  Char*les 
River;  and  Accawmack,  and  the  later,  and  more  intensive 
divisions  of  the  same  territory,  give  much  aid  in  tracing  the 
development  of  the  various  counties  of  the  State  as  at  pres- 
ent constituted. 

Prince  Edward  county,  named  for  Edward  Augustus,  a 
son  of  Frederick,  Prince  of  Wales,  followed  the  division  of 
the  old  "Shire"  called  Charles  City. 

In  1703  Prince  George  was  erected  out  of  Charles  City, 
and  from  Prince  George  was  later  carved,  Brunswick  in 
1732 ;  Amelia  in  1735 ;  and  Dinwiddle  in  1754. 

In  1753  an  Act  was  introduced  to  separate  the  present 
Prince  Edward  county  from  Amelia  and  the  separation  took 
place  accordingly  in  1754.  Nottoway  was  a  further  division 
of  Amelia  county  by  an  Act  of  1789. 

A  further  division  of  the  ancient  "Shire"  of  Charles 
City,  produced  Lunenburg  county  from  Brunswick,  in  1746; 
Halifax,  in  1752;  Bedford,  in  1754;  Charlotte,  in  1765;  Meck- 
lenburg, in  1765;  Greenville,  1781.  Pittsylvania  was  separ- 
ated from  Halifax  in  1767;  and  Henry  in  1777.  In  1791 
Patrick  was  taken  from  Henry.  In  1782  Campbell  county 
was  separated  from  Bedford  and,  in  1786,  a  part  of  the 
present  Franklin  county  was  erected  out  of  Campbell  county. 

A  general  pedigree  sheet  of  Charles  City  Shire  would 
look  something  like  the  chart  on  the  following  page: 


24  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


CHARLES  CITY 


PRINCE   GEO  ROE,    1703 


BRUNSWICK  AMELIA  DINWiODIE 

1732  1735  1754 


LUNENBURG 
1746 


PRINCE  EDWARD 

1754 


GREENVILLE  NOTTOWAY 

1781  1789 


HALIFAX  BEDFORD  CHARLOTTE  MECHLENBURG 

1752  1754  1765  1765 


PITTSYLVANIA         CAMPBELL 

1767  1782 


HENRY  FRANKLIN     (In  Part) 

1777  1786 


PATRICK 

1791 


This  County  is  situated  in  the  south-central  part  of  Vir- 
ginia, its  nearest  border-line  being  some  sixty  miles  south- 
east from  the  City  of  Richmond. 

It  is  about  twenty-five  miles  long  and  about  twelve  miles 
wide.  It  contains  an  area  of  345  square  miles,  over  one-third 
of  which  is  in  a  state  of  cultivation.  The  population  of  the 
county  is  (1921),  14,767. 

The  Appomattox  River  runs  on  the  northern  border  of 
the  county,  and,  with  its  many  branches,  waters  the  surround- 
ing lands.  Farmville  is  the  head  of  the  old  Batteau  naviga- 
tion, now  discontinued,  although  the  stream  is  navigable 
much  higher  up.  Small  fish  are  found  in  some  abundance  in 
the  stream. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  25 

The  Appomattox  Kiver  is  capable  of  furnishing  con- 
siderable water  power  at  this  point,  which  is,  as  yet,  practi- 
cally unutilized. 

Transportation  within  the  county,  and  with  the  outside 
world,  is  furnished  by  the  Norfolk  &  Western;  the  Southern; 
and  Virginian  railways,  in  addition  to  the  fine  system  of  pub- 
lic roads. 

Road  building  within  the  county  is  in  a  state  of  great 
activity,  several  stretches  of  State  and  National  highways 
being  either  already  completed,  or  under  construction.  For 
the  most  part,  the  roads  of  the  county  compare  very  favor- 
ably with  those  in  other  parts  of  the  State.  Farmville  is  the 
*^ub''  of  the  sj'stem  of  roads  being  built  under  the  direction 
of  the  State  Highway  Commission  in  this  part  of  the  State. 

With  her  splendid  schools,  fine  churches,  clear  water,  rich 
soil,  equable  climate,  good  roads,  and  central  location.  Prince 
ipdward  county  lis  one  of  the  Very  best  countiesj  in  the 
Commonwealth  in  which  to  make  happy  aAd  prosperous 
homes. 


®lff  ®rga«t2atuin  of  l^tiatt  lEhmutb  (Hamt^ 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  29 


THE  OKGANIZATION  OF  PRINCE  EDWARD 
COUNTY 

As  stated  elsewhere,  Prince  Edward  county  was  formed 
in  1753,  from  a  part  of  Amelia  county.  The  first  minutes  of 
the  new  county,  recorded  in  the  "County  Court  Orders,  1754- 
1758,"  says:  "The  Commission  of  Peace  being  first  read, 
and  the  Commission  of  Dedimus  Potestatom,  David  Flournoy 
and  John  Nash,  Jr.,  administered  the  Oath  of  Chancery  to 
John  Nash  the  elder,  George  Walker,  Joseph  Morton  and 
James  Wimbish,  Gentlemen,  who  also  read  and  subscribed 
the  Test;  whereupon  John  Nash  the  elder  administered  in 
like  manner,  the  aforesaid  Oaths,  to  David  Flournoy  and 
John  Nash,  Jr.,  Gentlemen,  who  also  read  and  subscribed  the 
Test. 

The  Court  being  thus  Constituted." 

And  thus  Prince  Edward  county  came  into  active  heing. 
These,  and  many  succeeding  minutes,  were  laboriously  tran- 
scribed in  quaint  old  English  characters,  by  John  Nash,  the 
elder.  Clerk  of  the  Court. 

At  a  succeeding  Court,  held  February  12,  of  the  same 
year,  John  Nash,  Jr.,  duly  appointed  Sheriff  of  the  County, 
and  John  Nash,  Sr.,  were  appointed  a  Commission  to  solicit 
the  Court  of  Amelia  to  appoint  a  Commission  to  act  with 
them  in  running  the  county  lines. 

At  the  same  Court,  George  Walker,  James  Wimbish,  and 
David  Flournoy  were  "appointed  to  review  the  proposals  of 
the  people  for  building  a  Court  House,  and  to  report  the 
several  proposals  to  the  next  Court."  One  Charles  Cuppler, 
was  at  this  time  recognized  as  an  Attorney  at  Law;  the  first 
in  the  new  county.  At  the  June  Court  of  the  same  year, 
Arthur  Neal  was  appointed  Constable  and  took  the  Oath. 

The  findings  of  the  Committee  appointed  to  ascertain  the 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


proposals  for  the  building  of  the  Court  House  and  report^ 
and  the  results  following  therefrom,  will  be  found  set  out  in 
Chapter  Four  of  this  work. 

The  county  was  divided  into  Six  Magisterial  Districts, 
as  follows:  Buffalo  District;  Farmville  District:  Hampden 
District;  Leigh  District;  Lockett  District;  and  Prospect  Dis- 
trict. 

The  county  is  in  the  Fourth  Congressional  District,  and 
in  the  Fifth  Judicial  District.  For  further  matter  respecting 
the  Judiciary  of  the  county,  see  Chapter  Fifteen  of  this 
work. 

The  Honorable  E.  T.  Bondurant  is  the  present  represen- 
tative of  the  county  in  the  House  of  Delegates. 

The  Honorable  Louis  E.  Epes  is  the  present  representa- 
tive of  the  county  in  the  State  Senate. 

The  present  Board  of  Supervisors  of  the  county  are : 

Buffalo  District :    W.  W.  Swan. 

Farmville  District:     J.  Ashby  Armistead. 

Hampden  District:    W.  A.  McCraw. 

Leigh  District:     F.  H.  Kauffman. 

Lockett  District:    W.  B.  Bruce. 

Prospect  District :     R.  W.  Fuqua. 

Samuel  W.  Watkins  is  the  Treasurer  of  the  county:  E. 
L.  Dupuy,  ConMnissioner  of  Revenue;  and  Judge  Asa  D. 
Watkins,  Commonwealth's  Attorney. 

Representatives  in  the  House  of  Delegates  and  Senate 

Allen,  James,  1782. 

Anderson,  Samuel  C,  1828-29,  1842-43,  1843-44,  1844-45, 


1846-47. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  31 

Bibb,  Richard,   1783,   1784-85,   1785-86,   1786-87. 

Bibb,  William,  1779,  1780-81,  1784-85. 

Booker,  Edward,  1813-14,  1814-15,  1815-16,  1816-17, 
1819-20. 

Booker,  John,  1803-04,  1804-05. 

Booker,  Richard  A.,  1861  (Jan.). 

Booker,  William,  Convention   1776;   House   1776-77. 

Branch,  Tazewell,  1874  (Jan.),  1874-75,  1875-76,  1876-77. 

Burke,  Samuel  D.,  1840-41. 

Burton,  R.  M.,  1891-92. 

Carter,  Samuel,  1805-06. 

Champlin,  N.  H.,  1881-82. 

Clarke,  John,  1784-85,  1785-86,  1786-87. 

Clarke,  John,  1817-18,  1818-19,  1821-22. 

Dickinson,  Asa  D.,  1857-58,  1859-60. 

Dillon,  James,  1829-30. 

Dupuy,  Asa,  1820-21,  1821-22,  1822-23,  1823-24,  1824-25, 
1825-26,  1826-27,  1827-28,  1828-29,  1829-30,  1831-32.  1833-34, 
1834-35. 

Dupuy,  W.  P.,  1885-86,  1887   (March),  1887-88,  1889-90. 

Evans,  W.  D.,  1877-78,  1879-80. 

Ewing,  W.  H.,  1910,  1912. 

Farrar,  Stephen  C,  1827-28. 

Flournoy,  John  J.,  1817-18,  1818-19. 

Flournoy,  Thomas,  1777,  1779,  1781-82. 

Flournoy,  William  C,  1850-51,  1852  (Jan.). 

Griggs,  N.  M.,  1883-84,  1884  (Aug.). 

Henry,  Patrick,  Convention  1788;  House  1787-88,  1788, 
1789,  1790. 


32  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Holcombe,  John,  1782. 

Jackson,  Thomas  P.,  1869-70,  1870-71. 

Johnston,  Peter,  1792,  1793,  1798-99,  1799-1800.  1800-01. 
1801-02,  1802-03,  1803-04,  1804-05,  1805-06,  1806-07,  1807-08, 
1810-11. 

Jorgenson,  Joseph,  1871-72,  1872-73. 

Lawson,  Kobert,  Convention  1788;  House  1778,  1780-81, 
1782,  1783,  1787-88. 

Lindsay,  William,   1813-14,  1814-15,  1815-16,   1816-17. 

M'Dearmon,  Samuel  D.,  1845-46. 

Mcllwaine,  Eichard,  Convention  1901-02. 

Madison,  James,  1835-36. 

Molloy,  Thomas,  1795. 

Moore,  Joseph,  1781-82. 

Morton,  John,  1777. 

Nash,  John,  1778. 

Owen,  John,  J.,  1899-1900,  1901-02,  1904,  1906,  1908. 

Purnall,  (Purnell),  John,  1791,  1792,  1793,  1794,  1795, 
1796,  1798-99,  1806-07,  1807-08,  1808-09,  1809-10,  1810-11, 
1811-12,  1812-13. 

Scott,  Charles,  1797-98,  1799-1800. 

Southall,  Stephen,  O.,  1852,  1853-54. 

Stokes,  Colin,  1893-94,  1895-96. 

Thornton,  John  T.,  Convention  1861. 

Tredway,  Thomas  T.,  1855-56,  1861-62,  1862,  (April),  1862, 
(Sept.),  1863  (Jan.),  1863-64,  1864-65. 

Venable,  Abraham,  B.,  1800-01,  1801-02,  1802-03,  1803-04. 

Venable,  Nathaniel  E.,  1836-37,  1838  (Jan),  1839  (Jan.), 
1839-40. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  33 


Venable,  Richard  N.,  Convention,  1829-30;  House  1797- 
98,  1820-21,  1830-31. 

Wade,  James,  1795,  1796. 

Watkins,  Asa  D.,  1897-98. 

Watkins,  Henry  E.,   1812-13,   1819-20,   1820-21,   1822-23, 
1823-24,  1824-25,  1825-26,  1826-27,  1832-33. 

Watts,  William,  Convention  1775;  House  1776. 

Wilson,  James  H.,  1841-42,  1852  (Jan.). 

Winston,  Peter,  1914,  1916,  1918. 

Womack,  Archer,  1809-10. 

Womack,  Benjamin  W.,  1847-48. 

Woodson,  Charles,  1811-12. 

Woodson,  Tarlton,  1788,  1789,  1790,  1791,  1794,  1808-09. 

Wootton,  William  T.,  1848-49,  1849-50. 

Bondurant,  E.  T.,  1920. 

Prince  Edward  and  Appomattox 
Watkins,  F.  N.,  1865-66,  1866-67. 

Senate 
Paul  Carrington,  1776,  1777-78,  1791,  1792,  1793,  1794. 
Walter  Coles,  1778,  1779,  1780-81. 
Nathaniel  Yenable,  1781,  1781-82,  1782. 
William  Hubard,  1783,  1784-85,  1785-86,  1786-87. 
John  Coleman,  1787-88,  1788-89,  1789,  1790. 
David  Clarke,  1795,  1796,  1797-98. 
George  Carrington,  1798-99. 
Gideon  Spencer,  1799-00,  1800-01,  1801-02,  1802-03. 


34  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Isaac  H.  Coles,  1803-04,  1804-05,  1805-06,  1806-07,  1807- 
08,  1808-09,  1809-10,  1810-11. 

Joseph  Wiatt   (Wyatt),  1811-12,  1812-13,  1813-14,  1823- " 
24,  1824-25,  1825-26,  1826-27,  1827-28,  1828-29,  1829-30,  1830- 

31,  1831-32,  1832-33. 

William  Eice,  1813-14,  1814-15. 

John  Hill,  1815-16,  1816-17,  1817-18,  1818-19. 

Howson  Clark,  1819-20,  1820-21,  1821-22,  1822-23. 

Henry  E.  Watkins,  1833-34,  1834-35. 

Archibald  A.  Campbell,  1835-36,  1836-37. 

Louis  C.  Bouldin,  1838,  1839,  1839-40,  1840-41,  1841-42, 
1842-43. 

William   H.   Dennis,   1843-44,  1844-45,   1845-46,  1846-47. 
1847-48,  1848-49,  1849-50,  1850-51. 

Thomas  H.  Campbell,  1852-53,  1853-54,  1855-56,  1857-58. 
William  C.  Knight,  1859-61. 
Asa  D.  Dickinson,  1859-61,  1861-63,  1863-65. 
Christopher  C.  McRae,  1865-67. 
James  D.  Bland,  1869-71  (Negro). 
John  T.  Hamlett,  1869-71. 
John  Robinson,  1871-73  (Negro). 
Edgar  Allan,  1874-75,  1875-77. 

Calvin  H.  Bliss,  1877-79,  1879-80,  1881-82,  1883-84,  1885- 
87. 

N.  M.  Griggs,  1887-88,  1889-90  (Negro). 

Joseph  W.  Southall,  1891-92,  1893-94,  1895-96,  1897-98. 

Asa  D.  Watkins,  1899-00,  1901-04. 

Wiliam  Hodges  Mann,  1904,  1906,  1908,  1910. 


History  of  Pmnce  Edward  County  35 

Robert  K.  Brock,  1912,  1914-15. 

George  E.  Allen,  1916,  1918. 

Louis  E.  Eppes,  1920. 

Prince  Edward  County  Senatorial  representatives  have 
served  two  or  more  counties,  changing  with  various  re-dis- 
tributions. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  39 


THE  COURT  HOUSE 

The  site  of  the  first  Court  House  of  Prince  Edward  coun- 
ty, was  at  the  village  of  Worsham,  near  to  the  location  of 
Hampden- Sidney  College.  The  first  courts  (ivere  held  in 
private  residences  in  that  immediate  vicinity.  A  Public 
Square  was  purchased  and  suitable  buildings  erected  thereon 
in  due  course.  This  place  was  named  for  the  Worsham  fam- 
ily, the  most  conspicuous  of  them,  in  the  affairs  of  the  coun- 
ty being  Branch  G.  Worsham,  who  became  County  Clerk  in 
1825  and  continued  till  after  the  Civil  War. 

At  the  February  Court,  February  12,  1754,  Charles  An- 
derson offered  the  use  of  his  kitchen  as  a  temporary  lockup 
until  such  time  as  a  suitable  prison  could  be  erected,  which 
offer  was  declined,  doubtless  with  thanks. 

At  the  next  court,  the  same  Anderson  was  awarded  the 
contract  for  the  building  of  a  Court  House,  Stocks,  Pillory, 
and  Whipping  Post,  at  or  near  his  house  in  the  county,  the 
jail  building  to  be  of  logs,  twelve  feet  by  sixteen  feet  in 
the  clear,  and  to  bring  in  his  account  at  the  laying  of  the 
next  levy.  He  was  later,  at  the  May  Court,  1755,  paid  fifty- 
two  pounds  and  fifteen  shillings  for  the  same. 

At  the  October  Court  of  the  same  year,  arrangements 
were  made  for  the  painting  of  the  Court  House,  the  tarring 
of  the  roof,  and  for  changing  the  character  and  the  place  of 
the  windows. 

Many  entries  are  to  be  found  in  the  minute  books  of  the 
Court  respecting  the  Court  buildings,  providing  for  their 
upkeep,  renewal,  etc.,  in  the  century  and  a  quarter,  or  there- 
abouts that  the  Court  House  remained  at  Worsham.  High 
hopes  had  been  entertained  as  to  the  prospective  growth  of 
the  little  village,  but  they  remained  unfulfilled;  the  place 
did  not  grow. 


40  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

A  persistent  agitation  had  grown  up  for  the  removal  of 
the  county  seat  to  the  larger  and  more  convenient  neighbor- 
ing town  of  Farmville,  which  would  not  down.  This  agita- 
tion culminated  in  a  decision  of  the  people  in  favor  of  such 
a  removal.  The  following  order  apears  in  "County  Court 
Orders,^  under  date  of  April  18,  1871 :  "The  Council  of  the 
Town  of  Farmville  having  represented  to  the  Court  that 
the  Corporation  had  contracted  with  James  B.  Eley,  for  the 
purchase  of  a  lot  of  land  containing  not  less  than  one-half 
acre,  situated  in  the  Town  of  Farmville,  on  the  East  side 
of  the  Main  Street  of  said  Town,  between  the  Baptist  and 
the  African  Baptist  Churches,  and  desiring  the  Court  to 
enter  on  record,  its  approval  of  said  land  as  a  location  for  a 
Court  House,  Clerk's  Office,  and  Jail,  it  is  ordered  that  the 
said  location  be  hereby  approved,"  etc. 

This  order  was  signed  by  the  Hon.  F.  N.  Watkins,  then 
serving  as  County  Judge. 

The  following  entry  of  the  'County  Court  Orders,'  on 
page  282,  under  date  of  February  12,  1872,  shows  progress : 

"It  being  suggested  to  the  Court  that  the  Council  of  the 
Town  of  Farmville  will,  in  a  short  time,  tender  to  the  Court 
a  Court  House,  Jail,  and  Clerk's  Office,  built  in  Farmville  in 
pursuance  of  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  General  Assembly, 
Approved  4th  November  1870,  and  of  March  4th,  1871,  in 
relation  thereto,  it  is  ordered  that  R.  B.  Berkeley,  H.  R. 
Hooper,  and  E.  Wiltse  be  Commissioners  on  the  part  of  the 
Court  to  confer  with  the  Corporation  of  Farmville,  and  re- 
port to  the  Court  whether  said  buildings  are  suitable  for  the 
use  of  the  county,  what  stoves  and  other  furniture  will  be 
necessary  therefor,  and  the  probable  cost  thereof,  together 
with  any  otlier  matter  concerning  the  same,  deemed  perti- 
nent thereto." 

The  final  consummation  of  all  these  plans  for  removal  to 
Farmville  are  attested  in  an  Order  of  the  Court,  under  date 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  41 

of   March   19,   1872,   and   appearing  on   Page   287,   'County 
Court  Orders'  as  follows: 

"A  Deed,  bearing  date  of  February  1872,  from  the  Town 
of  Farmville  to  the  County  of  Prince  Edward,  with  certifi- 
cate of  acknowledgment  annexed,  was  presented  in  Court  and 
ordered  to  be  recorded.  And,  it  appearing  to  the  Court  that 
the  deed  conveyed  according  to  law,  the  lot  in  Farmville  on 
which  the  Court  House,  and  other  Public  Buildings  are 
erected,  it  is  ordered  that  the  said  Deed  be  accepted  and  ap- 
proved. 

Commissioners  Berkeley,  Wiltse,  and  Hooper,  appointed 
at  the  February  Term  to  examine  the  new  Court  House,  made 
a  report,  which  was  Ordered  Filed. 

The  Court  doth  Order  that  it  be  certified  on  the  records 
of  the  Court  as  follows,  to  wit: 

That  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia  did  (by  an  Act 
entitled,  'An  Act  to  Authorize  the  Qualified  Voters  of  the 
County  of  Prince  Edward  to  vote  on  the  Question  of  remov- 
ing the  County  Court  House  to  the  Town  of  Farmville'  Ap- 
proved, 2nd  November,  1870,  and  by  an  Act  Amending  the 
third  section  thereof.  Approved  4th  March,  1871)  provide 
for  the  vote  indicated  in  the  Tables  of  said  Acts.  That  said 
vote  has  been  taken;  that  from  the  returns  and  abstracts  of 
the  votes  so  cast  upon  the  Question  of  the  removal  of  the 
Court  House  of  Prince  Edward,  it  appeared  that  a  majority 
of  the  Votes  were  "For  the  Town  of  Farmville."  That  the 
Council  of  the  Town  of  Farmville  have  caused  to  be  erected 
a  Court  House,  Jail,  and  Clerk's  Office,  in  the  corporate 
limits  of  said  Town,  on  a  lot  of  land  not  less  than  one-half 
or  more  than  two,  acres,  and  have  tendered  the  same  this  day 
to  the  Court  by  an  Order  of  the  Council  of  the  Town  of 
Farmville,  and  have  agreed  to  complete  unfinished  parts  of 
buildings  by  Orders  of  the  Council,  herewith  filed.  That  the 
fee   simple  title   thereto  has   been   made   to   the   County   of 


42 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


Prince  Edward  by  a  conveyance  of  General  Warranty,  which 
conveyance  has  been  this  day  approved  by  this  Court,  and  en- 
tered of  record  (See  sep  Acts,  69,  70.  pa  550,  and  of  70,  71 
pa  150)  it  is  thereupon  Ordered : — 

FIRST :  That  the  conveyance  and  Buildings  herein  men- 

tioned be  accepted  and  approved. 

SECOND:  That  as  soon  as  practicable  the  Clerk  of  this 
Court  remove  the  Books,  Papers,  and  Furni- 
ture in  the  Clerk's  Office,  and  in  the  existing 
Court  House,  and  Jail,  to  the  Clerk's  Office, 
and  Court  House,  and  Jail,  in  Farmville,  and 
thereafter  the  Court  shall  be  held  in  Farmville. 

THIRD:  That  the  real  estate  and  other  corporate  prop- 

erty of  the  County  of  Prince  Edward,  be,  and 
the  same  is  hereby  delivered  to  the  Supervis- 
ors of  Prince  Edward,  to  be  used  for  public 
purposes,  and  managed  and  controlled  by 
them  according  to  law.  This  Court  neither 
abandoning  or  compromising  any  right  of,  or 
title  to  the  said  property,  or  any  part  there- 
of, at  any  time  held  by  the  County. 
That  R.  S.  Hines,  the  present  keeper  of  the 
old  Court  House  and  Jail,  hold  and  take  care 
of,  according  to  law,  the  Public  Property  at, 
or  near  the  old  Court  House,  subject  to  the 
Orders  of  the  Court  or  Supervisors;  that  he 
receive,  hold,  and  deliver  the  keys  of  the 
Court  House,  Jail,  and  Clerk's  Office  to  said 
Supervisors,  and  that  the  Clerk,  without  de- 
lay, certify  this  Third  Section  to  the  Super- 
visors. 

FOURTH :  That  a  'Superintendent  of  Public  Buildings  and 
Grounds'  be  appointed,  who  shall,  till  other- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


43 


FIFTH: 


SIXTH: 


wise  Ordered,  keep  the  keys  and  take  care  of 
the  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds  under  the 
Orders  of  the  Court,  who  shall  cause  fires  to  be 
made,  and  other  conveniences  provided  for 
the  Courts,  who  shall  cause  the  Court  and  Jury 
rooms  to  be  swept  and  kept  clean.  He  shall 
prevent  all  pasting  of  advertisements  on  the 
walls  of  the  buildings  and  enclosures,  and  shall 
give  information  of  all  violations  of  "The  Act 
to  Prevent  Certain  Offenses  Against  Public 
Property"  passed  21st  January,  1867.  Pro- 
vided, however,  that  this  Order  shall  not  apply 
to  that  portion  of  the  Court  House  in  which 
is  situated  the  Clerk's  Office  and  public  room 
adjoining  thereto,  which  rooms  shall  be  under 
the  care  of  the  Clerk  of  the  Courts. 

In-as-much  as  the  Council  of  Farmville  hav- 
ing, without  expense  to  the  County,  erected  the 
Public  Buildings  and  conveyed  the  lot  to  this 
County,  and  have  added  a  large  room  adjoin- 
ing the  Clerk's  Office,  for  the  use  of  the  Coun- 
ty, the  Corporate  Authorities  of  Farmville 
may,  till  further  orders,  use  the  said  room  for 
meetings  of  the  Council,  and  for  the  Mayor's 
Court  free  of  charge  for  rent,  provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  cost  of  furnishing  and  keeping 
said  room  and  supplying  it  with  fires  and  at- 
tending the  same,  shall  be  supplied  by  the 
Town  of  Farmville. 

That  Henry  J.  Crute  be  appointed  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Grounds  and  Buildings. 


SEVENTH :  That  the  Clerk  cause  brief  notice  of  the  change 
in  the  County  Seat  to  be  printed,  and  that  he 
deliver  50  copies  to  the  Sheriff,  who  is  directed 


44  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

to  post  not  less  than  4  copies  thereof  in  each 
ToAvnship,  and  that  he  append  thereto,  notice 
of  the  Post  Office  addresses  of  the  Officers  of 
the  County,  and  that  a  copy  of  the  same  be 
published  weekly  for  four  weeks  in  the  "New 
Commonwealth." 

The  Hon.  iF.  N.  Watkins,  was  Judge,  and  F.  H.  Armi- 
stead  Deputy  Clerk,  at  the  time  of  this  change  of  the  County 
Seat. 

The  first  sitting  of  the  Court  at  the  new  County  Seat 
was  held  on  "Tuesday,  the  26  day  of  March,  1872,  in  the 
96th  year  of  the  Commonwealth,"  the  Hon.  F.  N.  Watldns, 
Judge,  presiding. 

Wiltshire  Cardwell  qualified  as  the  first  jailor  of  the  new 
Jail,  March  26,  1872^  and  the  following  served  as  the  Grand 
Jury  at  that  first  term:  R.  H.  Carter,  foreman;  N.  H.  Champ- 
lin;  J.  B.  Dupuy;  C.  C.  Taliaferro;  R.  H.  Walker;  and  Rich- 
ard Burton. 

And  the  Court  House  has  remained  at  Farmville  to  the 
present  day. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  47 


FARMVILLE:  THE  COUNTY  SEAT 

Faemvilke,  the  principal  town  of  Prince  Edward  Coun- 
ty, and  the  County  seat,  is  a  thriving  place  of  some  5,000 
population,  inclusive  of  suburbs.  It  occupies  a  position  of 
considerable  importance  as  a  tobacco  manufacturing  center, 
being  the  fifth  largest  in  the  State. 

The  State  Female  Normal  School,  with  an  average  en- 
rollment of  over  six  hundred  students,  is  located  here.  A 
splendid  Training  School,  and  an  excellent  High  School  are 
also  located  within  the  corporate  limits  of  the  municipality, 
while  a  good  colored  school  is  situated  just  outside  the  town 
on  the  Hampden- Sidney  Road.  Hampden- Sidney  College,  a 
Presbyterian  institution,  founded  in  1775,  is  about  seven  miles 
distant,  and  is  reached  by  a  fine  cement  and  macadam  road. 

The  famous  Farmville  Lithia  Springs  are  situated  just 
outside  the  corporate  limits,  on  the  Cumberland  County  side 
of  the  Appomattox  river.  This  water  is  noted  for  its  cura- 
tive properties,  and  is  shipped  to  all  points  of  this,  and  other 
countries.  "The  analysis  of  these  waters  is  essentially  the 
same  as  that  of  the  celebrated  Carlsbad  Springs  of  Germany, 
but  the  Farmville  Lithia  contains  more  different  kinds  of 
salts,  and  is  superior  in  consequence.  The  Farmville  Lithia 
Springs,  strictly  speaking,  is  only  a  part  of  a  straggling 
cluster  of  mineral  springs  which  constitute  one  of  Nature's 
greatest  phenomena,  some  explored  and  some  unexplored." 
Those  springs  explored  outside  of  the  Lithia  are :  Magnesia, 
for  dyspepsia;  Iodine,  for  blood  troubles;  Sulphur  and  Iron, 
for  bony  formations  between  the  joints;  Iodine,  Iron  and 
Sulphur,  for  complicated  blood  troubles;  Alum,  for  chronic 
intestinal  troubles,  and  internal  piles;  and  Arsenous  Chaly- 
beate, for  the  nervous  system.  These  wonderful  Springs  were 
known  to  the  Eed  Man,  as  is  evidenced  by  unearthing  relics  of 


48  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

the  Stone-age  and  charcoal  from  their  fires,  in  the  work  of 
excavation;  also,  living  land-marks  of  the  Indian  Trail  in 
the  shape  of  large  trees  arranged  to  form  an  arrow  pointing 
to  a  ford  across  the  Appomattox  river.  To  the  White  Man 
they  have  only  been  known  for  about  half  a  century.  Un- 
fortunately, these  wonderful  Springs  have  never  been  intelli- 
gently and  energetically  developed  and  exploited.  In  their 
financial,  as  well  as  in  their  curative  properties,  they  present 
a  most  alluring  prospect. 

To  the  south  of  the  municipality,  on  the  Hampden-Sid- 
ney  Road,  is  to  be  found  the  almost  equally  celebrated  Pickett 
Springs  of  almost  pure  water,  used  as  a  specific  for  various 
form  of  Kidney  Disease.  This  water  possesses  radio-activity 
to  approximately  the  following  amount:  240  x  10-11  grams 
Radium  per  U.  S.  gallon.  It  is  sodic  and  calcic  bicarbonated 
alkaline  (silicious)  water  of  value,  according  to  an  analysis 
made  by  Mr.  O.  E.  Sheppard  of  the  University  of  Missouri. 

In  Farmville,  where  a  majority  of  the  homes  are  supplied 
with  these  waters,  not  a  single  case  of  Typhoid  has  occurred 
for  years,  except  by  foreign  contraction. 

Farmville  is  situated  about  seventy  miles  south-westerly 
from  the  City  of  Richmond.  It  was  established  in  1798,  on 
the  property  of  Judith  Randolph.  Charles  Scott,  Peter  John- 
ston, John  Randolph,  Jr.,  Philip  Holcomb,  Jr.,  Martin  Smith, 
Blake  B.  W.  Woodson  and  Creed  Taylor,  were  appointed 
Trustees  to  Jay  off  the  town  in  half -acre  lots,  on  which  the 
purchaser  was  required  to  build  within  seven  years.  The 
new  town  prospered  from  the  very  beginning  and,  in  1872,  be- 
came the  County-seat. 

The  community  boasts  two  newspaper  printing  offices ; 
the  "Herald"  and  the  "Leader";  three  banks,  one  Baptist,  one 
Episcopal,  one  Methodist  P^piscopal,  and  one  Presbyterian 
Church,  for  white  people,  and  two  Baptist,  and  one  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  for  colored  people;  one  Conservatory  of 
Music:  a  fine  Motion  Picture  Treatre;  and  the  educational 


History  of  Prirwe  Edward  County  49 

institutions  above  noted.  It  possesses  two  fine  grist  mills. 
The  "Farmville  Mill,"  established  in  1838,  is  the  oldest  in  the 
county.  It  has  a  fine  re-inforced  cement  elevator,  with  a 
capacity  of  50,000  bushels,  erected  in  1921  at  a  cost  of  $30,- 
000,  which  compares  most  favorably  with  any  of  its  kind  in 
the  State. 

The  "Prince  Edward  Mill,"  operated  by  the  Prince  Ed- 
ward Milling  Company,  composed  of  Thomas  Asbury  Gray, 
William  S.  Gray,  and  Leland  H.  Green,  began  operations  in 
1914.  This  mill  has  a  capacity  of  50  barrels  of  flour,  500 
bushels  of  meal,  5,000  pounds  of  chop,  and  2,000  pounds  of 
mill  feed,  per  day.  In  connection  with  the  mill,  the  same 
company,  operating  under  the  name  of  the  Prince  Edward 
Ice  Company,  conducts  an  up-to-date  ice  plant  and  cold  stor- 
age warehouse,  with  a  capacity  of  15  tons  of  ice  per  day, 
and  separate  storage  facilities  for  eggs,  poultry,  apples,  ice 
cream,  and  ice.     This  entire  plant  has  a  valuation  of  $60,000. 

The  Farmville  Ice  Plant,  owned  and  managed  by  Wil- 
liam C.  Newman,  was  opened  for  business  in  1909.  The  plant 
has  a  capacity  of  forty  tons  of  ice  per  day,  but  specializes 
in  ice  cream,  and,  besides  enjoying  a  large  local  patronage, 
ships  its  product  to  many  outside  points.  The  plant,  with  its 
equipment,  represents  an  investment  of  about  $50,000. 

Four  automobile  concerns  minister  to  the  automotive 
necessities  of  the  people. 

In  the  matter  of  hotel  accommodation^  the  traveling  pub- 
lic is  well  cared  for:  The  historic  "Prince  Edward  Hotel" 
is  owned  and  managed  by  Mr.  Charles  T.  Chick.  The  "Con- 
tinental Hotel,"  managed  by  Mr.  J.  O.  Hardaway,  is  also 
owned  by  Mr.  Chick.  The  third  hotel,  the  "Ingersoll,"  is 
presided  over  by  the  Ingersoll  Brothers. 

Two  large  lumber  concerns  are  located  here;  the  Taylor 
Manufacturing  Company,  organized  to  succeed  the  Buffalo 
Mills  Company,  in  1919,  and  specializing  in  building  mate- 
rials; and  the  Farmville  Manufacturing  Company,  organized 


50  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

in  1878  in  succession  to  a  concern  originally  located  in  Amelia 
county,  and  specializing  in  plow  handles  and  building  mate- 
rials. The  officers  of  the  Farmville  Manufacturing  Company 
are,  George  M.  Robeson,  President ;  Floyd  B.  Gilbert,  Vice- 
President,  and  Erna  L.  Perrow,  Secy.-Treas.  The  officers  of 
the  Taylor  Manufacturing  Company  are,  Bennett  T.  Taylor, 
Prospect,  Va.,  President;  Edward  S.  Taylor,  Prospect,  Va., 
Vice-President,  and  H.  Carl  Holesapple,  Farmville,  Secty.- 
Treas. 

The  Post  Office,  completed  in  1920,  is  modern  in  all  its 
appointment  and  is  an  adornment  to  the  town. 

Farmville  is  the  center  of  the  tobacco  business  for  the 
county.  Four  tobacco  factories  are  in  regular  operation, 
while  five  other  factories  are  used  for  the  hanging  of  tobacco. 
There  are  in  addition,  three  warehouses  and  four  storage 
houses.  The  property  investment  is  well  over  the  quarter 
million  mark.  An  average  of  over  7,000,000  pounds  of  the 
weed  are  handled  annually,  for  which  approximately  $1,000,- 
000  is  paid  out  every  year. 

A  strong  and  flourishing  Chamber  of  Commerce,  of 
which  Mr.  W.  Clyde  Duvall  is  President;  Mr.  E.  Waller 
Sanford,  Secretary,  and  Mr.  J.  Barrye  Wall,  Treasurer,  is 
in  operation,  and  doing  good  work. 

The  officers  of  the  municipality  are: 

James  A.  Davidson,  Mayor. 

N.  B.  Davidson;  Dr.  R.  L.  Hudgins;  E.  Lee  Morris;  E. 
Scott  Martin;  W.  Clyde  Duvall;  W.  C.  Newman;  H.  A. 
Barrow;  R.  B.  Cralle;  E.  Southall  Shields,  Councilors. 

C.  Booker  Cunningham,  Clerk. 

Horace  B.  Warriner,  Treasurer. 

Leslie  Fogus,  Supt.  of  Public  Utilities. 

E.  D.  Lipscomb,  Chief  of  Police. 

J.  W.  Crute;  T.  S.  Whitlock,  and  J.  L.  Sublett.  police 
officers. 

Dr.  William  E.  Anderson,  Public  Health  Officer. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  51 

Dr.  William  E.  Anderson;  Dr.  J.  H.  Cocks,  and  Mrs. 
Koberta  Large  are  the  members  of  the  Public  School  Board. 

On  March  1,  1912,  an  election  of  qualified  voters  was  held 
in  order  to  ascertain  their  will  respecting  the  issue  of  school 
bonds  for  $25,000  to  be  used  for  the  erection  and  furnishing 
of  a  new  school  house.  The  proposed  issue  was  approved 
and,  in  process  of  time  the  present  splendid  school  building 
was  erected  and  put  in  use.  The  grounds  cost  $3,300.  The 
present  valuation  of  the  entire  property  and  equipment  is 
in  the  neighborhood  of  S60,000. 

The  present  teaching  staff  is  as  follows: 

M.  Blair  Dickinson,  A.  B.,  M.  A.,  Principal. 

Herman  Levy,  A.  B.,  B.  S.,  Assistant  Principal. 

Miss  Hannah  Crawley,  Danville  College  and  University 
of  Virginia. 

Mrs.  L.  P.  Davidson,  L.  I.,  Peabody  College. 

Miss  Grace  Beard,  B.  S.,  Farmville. 

Mrs.  Brazeal  Hobson,  State  Normal,  Farmville. 

Mrs.   John  Lancaster,  State  Normal,  Farmville. 

Miss  Ruth  Woodruff,  Averett  College,  Danville,  Va. 

Miss  Virgie  Bugg,  State  Normal,  Farmville;  Cornell 
and  Columbia. 


Oritur?  Ciittiar2>  (dountQ  in  tife  Ketialutixtnarg  feriah 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  55 


PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  IN  THE 
REVOLUTIONARY  PERIOD 

Owing  to  the  rather  remarkable  absence  of  data  rela- 
tive to  this  period  as  affecting  the  part  that  Prince  Edward 
county  had  in  that  stormy  controversy,  but  little  by  way  of 
connected  narrative  can  be  given. 

The  Royalist  Governor,  Lord  Dunmore,  because  of  the 
antagonistic  spirit  shown  by  them  against  the  Crown,  often 
dissolved  the  Council  of  the  Burgesses  of  Virginia,  during 
the  period  from  1773  to  1776.  After  these  successive  dissolu- 
tions, instead  of  going  to  their  homes  as  directed  by  the 
Governor,  the  Burgesses  began,  in  1774  to  assemble  at  the 
Raleigh  Tavern,  at  Williamsburg,  the  then  Capital  of  the 
Colony,  and  resolved  themselves  into  Revolutionary  Con- 
ventions. One  of  these  Conventions  was  convened  in  1774, 
two  in  1775,  and  finally  into  the  famous  Convention  of 
1776.  Thus  the  very  end  that  he  strove  to  avert  was  really 
hastened  by  the  ill-starred  course  of  the  Governor. 

So  odious  indeed,  did  the  name  of  Dunmore  become, 
that  a  county  that  had  been  named  in  his  honor,  was  re- 
christened  "Shenandoah." 

While  these  Conventions  were  being  held  the  people  gen- 
rally  bcame  greatly  aroused,  and  began  to  organize  for  the 
conflict  that  was  more  or  less  generally  expected.  They 
chose  Committees  of  Safety,  and  put  the  militia  on  a  war 
footing.  Prince  Edward  county  was  quite  as  active  as  any 
in  the  Commonwealth  in  pressing  forward  these  precaution- 
ary measures. 

By  an  ordinance  of  one  of  the  Conventions  of  1775,  the 
Colony  was  divided  into  eighteen  districts  for  convenience 
in  organizing. 

The  Committees  of  Safety  in  these  various  dJstricts 
were  A^ery  great  factors  in  the  war,  being  in  reality  a  sort 


56  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

of  military  executive  in  each  county.  That  of  Prince 
Edward  county  was  not  less  active  than  others.  Membership 
in  any  of  these  Committees  was  a  distinct  badge  of  honoi; 
so  that  descent  from  a  Committeeman  constitutes  a  clear 
title  to  membership  in  those  later  societies  called,  "The  Sons" 
and  '''^Fhe  Dauirhters  of  the  Revolution." 

Virginia  declared  her  independence  of  the  British 
Crown  on  the  29th  of  June,  1776,  five  days  before  the  gen- 
eral declaration  of  Independence,  on  the  4th  of  July  in 
th'at  year. 

In  all  these  activities  Prince  Edward  county  took  a  fore- 
most and  honorable  part. 

The  great  Patrick  Henry,  who  was  subsequently  a  resi- 
dent of  Prince  Edward  county,  was  the  first  Governor  of  the 
new  "Commonwealth."  To  him  the  county,  on  the  19th  of 
June,  1775.  voted  resolutions  of  gratitude  and  confidence 
on  the  occasion  of  the  "rape  of  the  gunpowder,"  which  was 
actually  the  first  active  stroke  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
for  it  stirred  the  Colonists  to  such  unbounded  enthusiasm 
that  the  success  of  the  Revolution  was  practically  assured. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


57 


Virginia  Militia  in  the  Revolution  : 

County. 


Prince  Edward 


The  list  herein  given  is  from  a  list  which  was  contrib- 
uted by  Alfred  J.  Morrison,  in  the  "Virginia  Magazine 
of  History,"  April,   1913,  taken  by  him   from  the  records. 

Officers  appointed  and  commissioned  in  May,  June,  and 
July,  1T77. 


Josiah  Chambers. 
John  Bibb. 


Charles  Allen. 
Jacob  Woodson. 


Benjamin  Allen. 
James  Carter. 


Robert  Goode. 


Captains 

David  Walker. 
Andrew  Baker. 

Lieutenants 

John  Dabney. 
Sharpe  Spencer. 

Enslgns 

Richard  Holland. 
William  Rice. 

Second  Lieutenants 

William  Wooton. 
Henry  Young. 


It  appeared  from  an  order  made  July,  1777,  that  the  fol- 
lowing were  then  Captains  of  Militia  Companies. 
Clarke. 

Owen. 

. Ligon. 

Bigger. 

Thomas   Flournoy. 

Chambers. 

William    Bibb. 


58  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

In  1778  the  following  Captains  were  appointed:  John 
Bibb;  George  Carrington. 

In  the  same  year  the  following  Lieutenants  were  ap- 
pointed:  John  Dupiiy;  Thomas  Lawson. 

Also  in  the  same  year  the  following  two  Ensigns  were 
appointed:    Yancey  Bailey;  Bigger,  Jr. 

In  1779  the  following  Captains  were  appointed:  Wil- 
liamson Bird  (in  place  of  Charles  Venable,  resigned) ;  Rich- 
ard Holland;  Sharpe  Spencer;  Thomas  Moore. 

And  reference  is  made  to  the  following:  as  being,  or  as 
having  been  Captains  of  Companies :  George  Booker ;  Samuel 
Venable;  Henry  Walker;  David  Walker. 

In  1779  the  following  Lieutenants  were  appointed: 
Nicolas  Davis;  Robert  Venable;  George  Booker;  Jesse  Wat- 
son; William  McGehee;  Ambrose  Nelson;  John  Langhorn. 

In  the  same  year  the  following  Ensigns  were  appointed : 
James  Parks;  Drury  Watson;  Thomas  Watkins. 

In  1779  Thomas  Haskins  was  recommended  as  Colonel 
of  the  Militia  of  the  county,  and  George  Walker  as  Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel. 

In  1780  the  following  were  recommended,  or  appointed 
as  Captains:  Thomas  Lawton;  Dick  Holland;  Jacob  Wood- 
son. 

And  the  following  as  Lieutenants:  Jesse  Watson; 
Drury  Watson;  William  Price,  Jr.;  James  Clark;  James 
Wright;  Joseph  Parks. 

And  the  following  as  Ensigns:  Stephen  Pettus;  William 
Booker;  John  Bell. 

In  1781  the  following  nominations  were  made  and  rati- 
fied: John  Nash,  County  Lieutenant;  George  Walker, 
Colonel;  Thomas  Flournoy,  Lieutenant-Colonel;  John  Clark. 
Major. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  59 

In  the  same  year  the  following  were  appointed  as  Cap- 
tains: Stephen  Neal;  James  Clark;  Ambrose  Nelson  (in  the 
stead  of  John  Bibb). 

The  following  were  appointed  Lieutenants  in  the  same 
year?    Natihanieil,  Allen;    John   Eichards;    Geoiitge    Foster; 
George    Pulliam;    William    Wooten;    James    Parks;    John 
Clarke,  Jr.;  John  Bell. 

And  the  following  were  appointed  as  Ensigns:  William 
Galespie;  Pejrton  Glenn;  Robert  Walton;  Philip  Mathew. 


MUSTER    ROLIi    OF    CAPTAIN    JOHN    MORTON'S 

COMPANY,  OF  PRINCE  EDWARD 

MILITIA,  JUNE  28,  1781 : 

OFFICERS 

Captain,  John  Morton,  (Morton  had  eight  sons  in  the 
service). 

First  Lieutenant,  John  Holcomb. 
,     Second  Lieutenant,  Obadiah  Woodson. 
Ensign,  Edward  Wood. 
Sergeant,  James  Morton. 

Sergeant,  Samuel  Anderson.  < 

Sergeant,  Charles  Stogg. 
Sergeant,  Charles  Anderson. 
Corporal,  Robert  Lawton. 
Corporal,  Thomas  Hastie. 
Corporal,  William  Wright. 
Corporal,  William  Chambers. 

PRIVATES 

Anderson,  Parsons;  Ascul,  William;  Baldwin,  Thoma-: 
Bigger,  William;  Boas,  Meshack;  Bird,  William;  Boas. 
Michael;    Brown,   Isham;    Byrk,   Thomas;    Casey,   William: 


60  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Chaffin,  Isham;  Chaffin,  Christopher;  Cocke,  Anderson;  Cun- 
ningham, Nathaniel;  Cunningham,  John;  Daniel,  George; 
Davidson,  Edward;  Davidson,  William;  Davidson,  David; 
Davis,  Charles;  Durham,  Nathaniel;  Edmunds,  Jacob;  Fore, 
Francis;  Foster,  Joshua;  Eraser,  John;  Eraser,  Thomas; 
Fugue,  William;  Garratt,  Alexander;  Gillespie,  William; 
Hales,  Peter;  Hampton,  Nathan;  Hoi  man,  Alexander;  Hord, 
William;  Howerton,  James;  Jennings,  Isham;  Jennings, 
James;  Johnson,  William;  King,  Thomas;  Lee,  John;  Lee, 
Archibald;  Leigh,  Charles;  Martin,  Samuel;  McGehee,  Wil- 
liam; Morton,  Thomas;  Newcomb,  Julius;  Parker,  Glover; 
Peak,  Aaron;  Pierce,  Thomas;  Pillon,  Jasper;  Rain, 
Nathaniel;  Robertson,  David;  Rutledge,  Dudley;  Sharp, 
Moses;  Smith,  Robert.  P.;  Smith,  John;  Smith,  Alexander; 
Spaulding,  John;  Sutherland,  Philemon;  Southerland,  Wil- 
liam; Taylor,  George;  Thompson,  John;  Tuggle,  Benjamin; 
Tuggle,  Thomas;  Walker,  Thomas;  Walker,  William,  1; 
Walker,  William,  2;  Watkins,  Abner;  Webster,  John;  Whit- 
lock,  Josiah;  Wilburn,  Thomas;  Woodson,  Anderson;  Wood- 
son, John;  Wright,  Archibald. 

Much  further  interesting  information  regarding  Prince 
Edward  county  soldiers,  serving  in  the  Virginia  Militia  dur- 
ing the  Revolutionary  War  may  be  found  in  McAllister's 
"Virginia  Militia  in  the  Revolutionary  War." 


f  rtwtt  tamart  (ttnmilg  In  tljr  liar  of  iai2-lB14 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  63 


PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  IN  THE  WAR  OF 

1812-1814 

The  Manifesto  of  John  Randolph,  of  Roanoke 

The  following  copy  of  the  pamphlet,  issued  by  John 
Raldoph  of  Roanoke,  on  May  30th,  1812,  is  given  in  full, 
with  introduction,  and  adenda,  because  it  expresses,  as  per- 
haps nothing  can  so  well  do,  the  actual  predilection  of  the 
people  of  Prince  Edward  county,  respecting  that  unfortunate 
struggle  between  the  government  of  the  United  States  and 
the  British  crown.  The  people  had  no  "stomach"  for  that 
war  and  Randolph  rightly  gauged  public  opinion,  as  found 
in  this  county,  at  any  rate. 

"^(?   the  freeholders   of  Charlotte^  Buckingham^  Prince 
Edward  and  Cumberland. 

Fellow  Citizens: 

I  dedicate  you  the  following  fragment.  That  it  appears 
in  its  present  mutilated  shape  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the  success- 
ful usurpation  which  has  reduced  freedom  of  speech  in  one 
branch  of  the  American  Congress  to  an  empty  name.  It  is 
now  established  for  the  first  time^  and  in  the  person  of  your 
representative.,  that  the  House  may,  and  will,  refuse  to  hear 
a  member  in  his  place,  or  even  to  receive  a  motion  from  him, 
upon  the  most  momentous  subject  that  can  be  presented 
for  legislative  decision. — A  similar  motion  was  brought 
forward  by  the  Republican  minority  in  the  year  1798,  (this 
motion  was  drawn,  it  is  believed,  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  but  movecj 
by  Mr.  Sprigg,  declaring  it  to  be  inexpedient  at  that  time 
to  resort  to  war  against  the  French  Republic)  before  these 
modem  inventions  for  stifling  freedom  of  debate  had  been 
discovered.  It  was  discussed  as  a  matter  of  right  until  it 
was  abandoned  by  the  mover  in  consequence  of  additional 


64  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

information  (by  the  correspondence  of  our  Envoys  at  Paris) 
laid  before  Congress  by  the  President.  In  "the  reign  of  ter- 
ror" the  father  of  the  sedition  law  had  not  the  hardihood 
to  proscribe  liberty  of  speech,  much  less  the  right  of  free  de- 
bate on  the  floor  of  Congress.  This  invasion  of  the  public 
liberties  was  reserved  for  self-styled  Republicans,  who  hold 
your  understandings  in  such  contempt  as  to  flatter  them- 
selves that  you  will  overlook  their  every  outrage  upon  the 
first  great  principles  of  free  government,  in  consideration 
of  their  profession  of  tender  regard  for  the  privileges  of  the 
people.  It  is  for  you  to  decide  whether  they  have  under-val- 
ued your  intelligence  and  spirit,  or  whether  they  have  formed 
a  just  estimate  of  your  character.  You  do  not  require  to  be 
told  that  the  violation  of  the  rights  of  him  whom  you  have 
deputed  to  represent  you,  is  an  invasion  of  the  rights  of  every 
man  among  you,  of  every  individual  in  society. — If  this  abuse 
be  suffered  to  pass  unredressed;  —  and  the  people  alone  are 
competent  to  apply  the  remedy;  —  we  must  bid  adieu  to  a 
free  form  of  government,  forever. 

Having  learned  from  various  sources  that  a  declaration 
of  war  would  be  attempted  on  Monday  next,  with  closed 
doors,  I  deemed  it  my  duty  to  endeavour,  by  any  exercise  of 
my  constitutional  functions,  to  arrest  this  heaviest  of  all  pos- 
sible calamities,  and  avert  it  from  our  happy  country,  I  ac- 
cordingly made  the  effort  of  which  I  now  give  you  the  re- 
sult, and  of  the  success  of  which  you  will  have  already  been 
informed,  before  these  pages  can  reach  you.  I  pretend  only 
to  give  you  the  substance  of  my  unfinished  argument.  The 
glowing  words;  —  the  language  of  the  heart;  —  have  passed 
away  with  the  occasion  that  called  them  forth.  They  are  no 
longer  under  my  control.  My  design  is  simply  to  submit  to 
you  the  views  which  have  induced  me  to  consider  a  war  with 
England,  under  existing  circumstances,  as  comporting  neither 
with  the  INTEREST  nor  with  the  HONOUR  of  the  Ameri- 
can people,  but  as  an  IDOLATROUS  sacrifice  of  both,  on  the 
altar  of  French  rapacity,  perfidy,  and  ambition. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  65 

France  has  for  years  past  offered  us  terms  of  undefined 
commercial  arrangement,  at  the  price  of  a  war  with  England, 
which  hitherto  we  have  not  wanted  firmness  and  virtue  to 
reject.  The  price  is  now  to  be  paid.  We  are  tired  of  holding 
out; — and,  following  the  example  of  the  nations  of 
continental  Europe;  entangled  in  the  artifices,  or  awed  by 
the  power  of  the  destroyer  of  mankind;  we  are  prepared  to 
become  instrumental  to  his  projects  of  universal  dominion. 
Before  these  pages  meet  your  eye,  the  last  Republick  of  the 
earth  will  have  enlisted  under  the  banners  of  the  tyrant  and 
become  a  party  to  his  cause.  The  blood  of  American  free- 
men must  flow  to  cement  his  power,  to  aid  in  stifling  the 
last  struggles  of  afflicted  and  persecuted  man;  to  deliver  into 
his  hands  the  patriots  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  to  establish 
his  Empire  over  the  ocean  and  over  the  land  that  gave  our 
fathers  birth;  to  forge  our  own  chains!  —  And  yet,  my 
friends,  we  were  told  in  the  days  of  the  mad  ambition  of 
Mr.  Adams,  "THAT  THE  FINGER  HEAVEN  POINTS 
TO  WAR."  Yes,  the  finger  of  Heaven  does  point  to  war. 
It  points  to  war,  it  points  to  the  mansions  of  eternal  misery 
and  torture;  as  to  a  flaming  beacon  warning  us  of  that  vortex 
which  we  may  not  approach  but  with  certain  destruction.  It 
points  to  desolated  Europe  and  warns  us  of  the  chastisement 
of  those  nations  who  have  offended  against  the  justice  and 
almost  beyond  the  mercy  of  Heaven.  It  announces  the  wrath 
to  come,  upon  those  who,  ungrateful  for  the  bounty  of  provi- 
dence, not  satisfied  with  peace,  liberty,  security,  plenty  at 
home,  fly,  as  it  were,  into  the  face  of  the  Most  High  and 
tejnpt  His  forbearance. 

To  you,  ijtt  this  pldce^  I  can  speak  with  freedom,  and  it 
becomes  me  to  do  so;  nor  shall  I  be  deterred  by  the  cavils 
and  the  sneers  of  those  who  hold  as  "'Foolishness"  all  that 
savours  not  of  worldly  wisdom,  from  expressing  fully  and 
freely  those  sentiments  which  it  has  pleased  God,  in  His 
Mercy,  to  engrave  upon  my  heart. 


66  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

.  These  are  no  ordinary  times.  The  state  of  the  world  is 
unexampled.  The  war  of  the  present  day  is  not  like  that  of 
our  revolution,  or  any  which  preceded  it,  at  least  in  modern 
t'mes.  It  is  a  war  against  the  liberty  and  happiness  of  man- 
Idnd.  It  is  war  of  which  the  whole  human  race  are  the  vic- 
tims, to  gratify  the  pride  and  lust  of  power,  of  a  single  in- 
dividual. I  beseech  you,  put  it  to  your  own  bosoms,  how  far 
it  becomes  you  as  freemen,  as  Christians,  to  give  your  aid 
and  sanction  to  this  impious  and  bloody  w^arfare  against  your 
brethren  of  the  human  family.  To  such  among  you,  if  any 
there  be,  who  are  insensible  to  motives  not  more  dignified 
and  manly  than  they  are  intrinsically  wise,  I  would  make  a 
different  appeal.  I  adjure  you  by  the  regard  which  you 
have  for  your  own  security  and  property,  for  the  liberties 
antl  inheritance  of  your  children,  by  all  that  you  hold  dear 
and  sacred,  to  interpose  your  constitutional  powers  to  save 
your  country  and  yourselves  from  a  calamity,  the  issues  of 
which,  it  is  not  given  to  human  foresight  to  divine. 

Ask  yourselves  if  you  are  willing  to  become  the  virtual 
allies  of  Bonaparte?  Are  you  willing,  for  Ithe  sake  of 
annexing  Canada  to  the  northern  States,  to  submit  to  the 
ever-growing  system  of  taxation,  which  sends  the  European 
laborer  supperless  to  bed  ?  To  maintain  by  the  sweat  of  your 
brow,  armies  at  whose  hands  you  are  to  receive  a  future 
master?  Suppose  Canada  ours.  Is  there  any  one  among  you 
who  would  ever  be  the  better  for  it?  —  the  Hcher — the 
freer — the  happier — the  more  secure?  And  is  it  for  a  boon 
like  this,  that  you  would  join  in  a  warfare  against  the  liber- 
ties of  man  in  the  other  hemisphere,  and  put  your  own  in 
jeopardy  ?  or  is  it  for  the  fwminul  privilege  of  a  licensed  trade 
with  France,  that  you  would  abandon  your  lucrative  com- 
merce with  Great  Britain,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  their  Asiatic 
African,  and  American  dependencies— in  a  word,  with  every 
region  of  those  vast  continents?    That  commerce  which  gives 


History  of  Prince  Edioard  County  67 

a  vent  to  tobacco,  grain,  flour,  cotton;  in  short  to  all  your 
native  products;  which  are  denied  a  market  in  France. 

There  are  not  wanting  men  so  weak,  as  to  suppose  that 
their  approbation  of  war-like  measures  is  a  proof  of  per- 
sonal gallantry,  and  that  opposition  to  them  indicates  a 
want  of  that  spirit  which  becomes  a  friend  to  his  country; 
as  if  it  requires  more  courage  and  patriotism  to  join  the 
acclamation  of  the  day,  than  steadily  to  oppose  one's  self  to 
the  mad  infatuation  to  which  every  pepole  and  all  govern- 
ments have,  at  some  time  or  other,  given  way.  Let  the  his- 
tory of  Phocion,  of  Agis,  and  of  the  DeWitts,  answer  this 
question.  My  friends,  do  jow  expect  to  find  those  who  are 
now  loudest  in  the  clamour  for  war,  foremost  in  the  ranks 
of  battle?  or  is  the  honour  of  this  nation  indissolubly  con- 
nected with  the  political  reputation  of  a  few  individuals, 
who  tell  you  they  have  gone  too  far  to  recede,  and  that  you 
must  pay,  with  your  ruin  the  price  of  their  consistency.  My 
friends,  I  have  discharged  my  duty  towards  you  lamely  and 
inadequately  I  know,  but  to  the  best  of  my  poor  ability.  — 
The  destiny  of  the  American  people  is  in  their  hands.  The 
net  is  spread  for  their  destruction.  You  are  enveloped  in 
the  toils  of  French  duplicity;  and  if,  which  may  heaven  in 
its  mercy  forbid,  you  and  your  posterity  are  to  become  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water  to  the  modern  Pharaoh,  it 
shall  not  be  for  the  want  of  my  best  exertions  to  rescue  you 
from  the  cruel  and  abject  bondage.  This  sin,  at  least,  shall 
not  rest  upon  my  soul. 

JOHN  RANDOLPH,  of  Roanoke. 

May  30th,  1812. 

House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States. 

May  30th,  1812. 

Soon  after  the  House  met,  Mr.  Fisk  moved  that  "when 
the  House  adjourn,  it  adjourn  to  meet  on  Monday  next." 
Which  having  been  carried,  he  then  immediately  moved  that 


68  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

the  House  do  now  adjourn.    Negatived  by  a  small  majority. 

Mr.  Randolph  said  that  rumors  to  which  he  could  not 
shut  his  ears  (of  an  intended  declaration  of  war  on  Monday 
next,  with  closed  doors)  and  the  circumstances  which  had 
just  passed  under  the  eye  of  the  House  (alluding  to  the  mo- 
tion to  adjourn)  impelled  him  to  make  a  last  effort  to  rescue 
the  country  from  the  calamities,  which,  he  feared,  were  im- 
pending over  it.  He  had  a  proposition  to  submit,  the  decis- 
ion of  which  would  affect  vitally,  the  best  interests  of  the  na- 
tion. He  conceived  himself  bound  to  bring  it  forward.  He 
did  not  feel  himself  a  free  agent  in  the  transaction.  He  would 
endeavour  to  state  as  succinctly  as  he  could,  the  grounds  of 
his  motion,  and  he  humbly  asked  the  attention  of  every  man 
whose  mind  was  at  all  open  to  conviction;  of  every  man 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  his  country;  not  only  in  that  House, 
but  in  every  rank  and  condition  of  life  throughout  the  state. 

The  motion  which  he  was  about  to  offer  grew  out  of  cer- 
tain propositions,  which  he  pledged  himself  to  prove;  nay, 
without  an  abuse  of  the  term,  to  demonstrate. 

The  first  of  these  propositions  was,  that  the  Berlin  and 
Milan  Decrees  were,  not  only,  not  repealed^  but  that  our 
government  had  furnished  to  the  House  and  to  the  world,  un- 
equivocal evidence  of  the  fact.  The  difficulty  in  demon- 
strating this  proposition  arose  rather  from  his  embarrass- 
ment in  selecting  from  the  vast  mass  of  evidence  before  him, 
than  in  any  deficiency  of  proof;  for  if  he  were  to  use  all  the 
testimony  that  might  be  adduced,  he  feared  his  discourse 
would  grow  to  a  bulk  not  inferior  to  the  volume  which  he 
held  in  his  hand.  He  would  refer  the  House  to  the  corre- 
spondence, generally,  of  Mr.  Russell,  our  agent  at  Paris,  ac- 
companying the  President's  message  of  the  present  session, — 
He  referred  to  the  schedule  of  American  vessels  taken  by 
French  privateers  since  the  first  of  November  1810,  (the 
period  of  the  alleged  repeal  of  the  French  Decrees)  :  of 
these,  it  was  worthy  of  remark,  that  "the  Robinsonova,  from 


History  of  PHnce  Edward  County  69 

Norfolk  to  London,  with  tobacco,  cotton  and  staves ;  the  Mary 
Ann  from  Charleston  to  London,,  with  cotton  and  rice;  the 
General  Eaton,  from  London  to  Charleston,  in  ballast;  the 
Clio  from  London  to  Philadelphia,  with  English  manufac- 
tures; the  Zebra  from  Boston  to  Tarragona,  {then  in  fos- 
session  of  the  Spaniards)  with  staves;  all  coming  under  the 
operation  of  the  French  Decrees  and  seized  since  the  ^nd  of 
November^  1810,  had  ndt  been  restored,  on  the  14th  of  July 
last;"  and  that  the  only  two  vessels  named  in  that  schedule, 
which  had  been  restored;  viz,  the  Two  Brothers  from  Boston 
to  St.  Malo,  and  the  Star,  from  Salem  to  Naples  (the  one 
a  port  in  France,  the  other  virtually  a  French  port)  did 
not  come  within  the  scope  of  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees. 
Indeed,  the  only  cases  relied  upon  by  Mr.  Monroe  to  prove 
the  repeal  of  the  French  Decrees  are  those  of  the  Grace 
Ann ,  Green  of  the  New  Orleans  Packet.  On  the  first  of  these 
no  great  stress  is  laid  because,  having  been  captured  by  an 
English  cruizer,  she  was  retaken  by  her  own  crew  and  car- 
ried into  Marseilles,  where  consequently  her  captors  became 

French  prisoners  of  war     (See  note  A.)  (mutilation)  it 

was  to  be  expected,  that  in  the  case  of  war  between  the  United 
States  and  England,  our  privateers  carrying  their  prizes  into 
French  ports  should  be  proceeded  against  under  those  decrees. 
It  was,  therefore,  on  the  case  of  the  New  Orleans  Packet 
that  the  principal  reliance  was  placed,  to  show  the  repeal 
of  the  obnoxious  decrees.  But  even  this  case  established, 
beyond  the  possibility  of  doubt,  that  the  Milan  Decrees  of 
the  23rd  November  and  17th  December,  1807,  were  in  force 
subsequently  to  the  period  of  their  alleged  repeal.  This  ves- 
sel hearing  at  Gibraltar,  where  she  had  disposed  of  part  of 
her  cargo,  of  the  letter  of  the  Duke  of  Cadore  of  the  5th  of 
August,  1810,  suspended  her  sales,  and  the  supercargo,  after 
having  consulted  with  Mr.  Hackley,  the  American  consul  at 
Cadiz,  determined  on  the  faith  of  that  insidious  letter,  to 
proceed  with  the  remainder  of  his  cargo  to  Bordeaux.     He 


70  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


took  the  precaution  however,  to  delay  his  voyage,  so  that  he 
might  not  arrive  in  France  before  the  1st  of  November;  the 
day  on  which  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees  were  to  cease 
to  operate. 

(Here  Mr.  Randolph  was  called  to  order  by  Mr. 
"Wright,  who  said  there  was  no  motion  before  the  House. 
The  Speaker  overruled  Mr.  Wright's  objection,  as  the  gen- 
tleman from  Virginia  had  declared  his  intention  to  make  a 
motion  and  it  had  been  usual  to  admit  prefatory  remarks). 

Mr.  Randolph  said  he  would  proceed  in  his  argument 
without  deviating  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  and  he  would 
endeavour  to  suppress  every  feeling  which  the  question  was 
so  well  calculated  to  excite.  "The  vessel  accordingly  ar- 
rived in  the  Garonne  on  the  14th  of  November,  but  did  not 
reach  Bordeaux  until  the  3rd  of  December  1807,  expressly 
9et  forth,  for  having  come  from  an  English  port  and  having 
been  visited  by  a  British  vessel  of  war."  Thus  this  vessel 
having  voluntarily  entered  a  French  port  on  the  faith  of  the 
repeal  of  the  decrees,  was  seized  under  them.  "These  facts, 
continues  Mr.  Russell,  having  been  stated  to  me  by  the  super- 
cargo, or  the  American  vice-consul  at  Bordeaux,  and  the 
principal  one,  that  of  the  seizure  under  the  Milan  Decm^ees 
being  established  by  the  process-verb al,  pu6  into  my  hands  by 
one  of  the  consignees  of  the  cargo,  I  conceived  it  to  be  'my 
duty  not  to  suffer  the  transaction  to  pass  unnoticed." 
This  process-verbal  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  the  l^bel  of 
the  Admiralty  court  drawn  by  the  law  officer  of  the  French 
Government,  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the  Empire.  What 
should  we  say  to  the  libel  of  a  vessel  by  the  District  At- 
torney of  the  United  States,  or  her  seizure  by  the  custom 
house  officers,  under  an  act  of  Congress  which  had  been  re- 
pealed? The  whole  of  this  correspondence  proves  un-» 
equivocally  that  neither  the  Custom  House  Officers,  the  Courts 
of  Law,  nor  the  French  cruizers,  not  even  the  puhlick  ships 
of  war  had  ever  received  notice  from  their  government  of 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  71 

the  repeal  of  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees.  This  last  fact 
is  further  substantiated  by  the  remonstrance  of  Mr.  Barlow 
to  the  Duke  of  Bassano  of  the  12th  of  March,  1812,  in  the 
case  of  the  "vessels  captured  and  burnt  by  his  Imperial  and 
Royal  Majesty's  ships  Medusa  and  Nymph."  It  should  be 
recollected  that  all  the  decrees  of  the  French  Emperor  are 
given  strictly  in  charge  to  certain  public  functionaries,  who 
are  directed  to  put  them  in  force.  The  only  authorities  to 
whom  the  repeal  of  these  decrees  was  to  be  a  rule  of  action; 
the  Cruizers,  Courts  and  Officers  of  the  Customs;  remained 
profoundly  ignorant  of  the  fact.  It  is  to  be  found  no  where 
but  in  the  proclamation  of  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
of  the  2nd  of  November,  1810.  "To  have  waited  for  the  re- 
ceipt of  this  proclamation  (says  Mr.  Russell)  in  order  to 
make  use  of  it  for  the  liberation  of  the  New  Orleans  Packet,' 
appeared  to  me  a  preposterous  and  unworthy  course  of  pro 
ceeding,  and  to  be  nothing  better  than  absurdly  and  homely 
employing  the  declaration  of  the  President,  that  the  Berlin 
and  Milan  Decrees  had  been  revoked,  as  the  means  of  ob- 
taining their  revocation."  They  were  then  not  revoked,  or 
surely  our  minister  would  not  stand  in  need  of  any  means 
for  obtaining  their  revocation.    Proofs  multiplying  on  proofs ! 

"The  Custom  House  Officers  of  Bordeaux  commenced  un- 
lading the  New  Orleans  Packet  on  the  10th  December  and 
completed  that  work  on  the  20th,  as  appears  by  their  process- 
verbal  of  those  dates.  That  of  the  20th  expressly  declares  that 
the  property  was  to  be  pui'sued  before  the  Imperial  Council 
of  Prizes,  (the  Court  of  Admiralty,)  at  Paris,  according  to 
the  decrees  of  the  23rd  November,  and  17th  December,  1806, 
or  in  other  words,  under  the  decrees  of  Milan.''''  Mr.  Russell's 
remonstrance  was  submitted  to  the  Council  of  commerce^  and 
further  proceedings  against  the  New  Orleans  Packet  sus- 
pended. ^''The  papers  were  not  transmitted  to  the  Council 
of  PHzes^  nor  a  prosecution  instituted  before  that  tribunal; 
which  proves  only  that  the  prosecution  at  law  was  suspended, 


72  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

not  that  the  laws  were  repealed  —  "and  the  vessel  and  cargo 
on  the  9th  of  January  were  placed  at  the  disposition  of  the 
consignees,  on  giving  hond  to  pay  the  estimated  amount, 
should  it  be  definitely  decided  that  a  confiscation  should  take 
place." 

Recollect  that  this  vessel  voluntarily  entered  a  French 
port  on  the  faith  of  the  repeal  of  those  decrees.  She  is 
seized  and  libelled  under  them,  but  after  great  exertion  on 
the  part  of  the  American  minister,  he  obtains  from  the 
French  government — ^What?  Proof  of  the  bona  fide  revoca- 
tion of  the  decrees?  Nothing  like  it.  A  discharge  of  the 
vessel?  Not  at  all, — the  bond  represents  her — she  stands 
pledged  in  her  full  value  in  case  she  should  be  found  to 
come  within  the  scope  of  the  law;  and  yet  we  must  believe 
the  law  to  be  repealed!  What  sort  of  a  release  is  this?  Mr. 
Russell  makies  a  merit  of  having  "rescued  this  property 
from  the  seizures  with  which  it  had  been  visited" — that  is 
rescued  it  from  a  court  of  justice;  and  of  "having  placed  it 
in  a  situation  more  favorable  than  that  of  many  other  ves- 
sels and  cargoes  which  continued  in  a  kind  of  mortemain^ 
by  the  suspension  of  all  proceedings  in  regard  to  them."  And 
this  letter  and  this  case  is  adduced  as  a  proof  of  the  repeal 
of  the  Berlin  and  Milan  Decrees,  on  the  1st  of  November, 
1810! 

It  is  true  that  in  a  postscript  dated  the  fifth  of  July,  (a 
month  subsequent  to  the  date  of  the  letter  to  which  it  is 
appended,  and  seven  months  after  his  remonstrance  to  the 
French  government)  Mr.  Russell  states  that  orders  had  been 
given  to  cancel  the  bond  in  question.  But  surely  this  is  no 
proof  of  the  revocation  of  the  decrees.     Let  us  see  what  he 

says  on  the  15th  of  that  month.  "Although  I  was  fully 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  an  early  decision  in  favor 
of  the  captured  vessels,  none  of  which  had  been  included  in 
the  list  above  mentioned" — ("of  the  16  vessels  whose  cargoes 

had  been  admitted  by  order  of  the  Emperor" — probably  un- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  73 

der  license)  yet  I  deemed  it  proper  to  wait  for  a  few  dajrs, 
before  I  made  an  application  on  the  subject.  On  the  11th 
however,  having  learnt,  at  tlie  council  of  prizes,  that  no  iiew 
order  had  been  received  there" — (that  on  the  11th  of  July 
1811,  the  French  Admiralty  Court  had  no  notice  of  the  re- 
peal of  the  decrees)  "adjudged  it  to  be  my  duty  no  longer  to 
remain  silent.  I  therefore,  on  that  day  addressed  to  the  Duke 
of  Bassano,  my  note  with  a  list  of  American  Vessels  captured 
since  the  -first  of  November.  On  the  15th  I  learnt  that  he 
had  laid  this  note,  with  a  general  report,  before  the  Emperor, 
but  that  his  majesty  declined  taking  any  decision  with  re- 
gard to  it,  before  it  had  been  submitted  to  the  council  of 
commerced 

The  House  will  take  into  consideration  the  distinction 
between  the  council  of  prizes^  and  admiralty  court  bound  to 
decide  according  to  the  laws  of  the  empire;  and  the  coun- 
cil of  commerce ;  which  was  of  the  nature  of  a  board  of  trade  x 
charged  with  the  general  superintendence  of  the  concerns  of 
commerce;  occupied  in  devising  regulations,  not  in  expound- 
ing them;  an  institution  altogether  political;  by  no  means 
judicial.  His  majesty  then  determined  to  consult  his  coun- 
cil of  commerce,  whether  from  motives  of  policy  he  should, 
or  should  not,  grant  a  special  exemption  from  the  operation 
of  his  laws.  In  the  same  letter,  learning  from  the  Duke  of 
Bassano  that  "the  case  of  the  brig  Grood  Intent,  must  be  car- 
ried before  the  Council  of  Prizes,"  Mr.  Russell  wishes  to 
secure  this  case  from  this  '''inauspicuous  mode  of  proceed- 
ing:" that  is,  from  the  operation  of  the  law.  Why?  if  the 
law,  so  dreaded,  was  repealed? 

"I  had  from  time  to  time  (he  continues)  informed  my- 
self of  the  proceedings  in  regard  to  the  captured  vessels,  and 
ascertained  the  fact  that  the  Duke  of  Bassano  had  made  a 
report  in  relation  to  them.  The  Emperor  it  appears,  how- 
ever, still  wished  for  the  decision  of  his  Council  of  Com- 
merce.^^    What!  to  know  if  his  decrees  of  Berlin  and  Milan 


74  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

were  revoked?  was  his  majesty  ignorant  of  the  fact?  Can 
stronger  evidence  be  adduced  that  they  were  in  force,  or  can 
the  release  (not  by  courts  of  law,  but  by  special  executive 
interference)  under  peculiar  circumstances,  and  after  a  long 
detention  for  violating  those  decrees,  of  a  single  vessel,  es- 
tablish the  fact  of  their  repeal.  On  the  contrary  ought  not 
the  solitary  exception  (granting  it  to  be  one)  to  fortify  the 
general  rule? 

In  passing,  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  French  min- 
ister, being  interrogated  by  Mr.  Russell  on  the  subject  of  our 
future  commercial  intercourse  with  France,  "replied  that  no 
such  communication  would  be  made  at  Paris,  but  that  Mr. 
Serrurier  would  be  fully  instructed  on  this  head."  The 
House  would  recollect  how  much  had  been  expected  of  Mr. 
Serrurier  on  his  arrival,  and  how  much  had  been  obtained. 
An  ex-Secretary  of  the  State  even  had  the  temerity  to  charge 
the  President  with  having  compelled  him  to  desist  from  put- 
ting any  interrogatories  to  the  French  minister  on  his  ar- 
rival. But,  be  that  as  it  may,  one  thing  is  certain,  that  appli- 
cation having  been  made  to  the  minister,  at  the  requisition  of 
the  Senate  during  the  present  session,  he  had  declared  an  en- 
tire ignorance  of  everything  relating  to  the  subject. 

To  dissipate  the  last  shadow  of  doubt  on  the  question  of 
the  repeal  of  the  French  Decrees,  Mr.  Serrurier,  in  his  letter 
of  July  23,  1811,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  expressly  declares, 
that  "the  new  dispositions  of  our  government,  expressed  in 
the  supplementary  act  of  the  2nd  of  March  last,  having  been 
oiRcially  communicated  to  his  Court,  his  imperial  majesty, 
as  soon  as  he  was  made  acquainted  with  them,  directed  that 
the  American  vessels  sequestered  in  the  ports  of  France 
since  the  2nd  of  November,  should  be'  released,  orders  were  at 
the  same  time  given  to  admit  American  vessels,  laden  with 
American  produce !" 

Under  these  circustances,  whatever  difference  of  opinion 
might  exist  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  President's  Proclama- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


tion  in  the  first  instance,  there  could  be  none  as  to  its  revo- 
cation. As  soon  as  it  was  ascertained,  not  only  from  the  pro- 
ceedings of  her  criiizers  on  the  high  seas,  but  of  her  courts 
of  law,  and  of  her  government,  that  France  had  acted,  mala 
fde^  towards  this  country,  it  surely  became  the  duty  of  the 
President  to  recall  that  proclamation.  He  could  have  no 
doubt  of  his  constitutional  powers  over  the  subject,  having 
already  exercised  in  a  case  not  dissimilar.  (Erskine's  arrange- 
ment). That  proclamation  was  the  dividing  line  of  our 
policy;  the  root  of  our  present  evil.  From  that  fatal  proc- 
lamation we  are  to  date  our  departure  from  that  neutral 
position  to  which  we  had  so  long  and  so  tenaciously  adhered, 
and  the  accomplishment  of  the  designs  of  France  upon  us. 
In  issuing  it  the  President  had  yielded  to  the  deceitful  over- 
tures of  France ;  and  it  was  worthy  of  observation  how  differ- 
ent a  construction  had  already  been  put  upon  the  act  of  non- 
intercourse  (as  it  was  commonly  called)  from  that  of  May, 
1810 — although  the  words  of  the  two  acts  were  the  same.  In 
the  first  case,  a  modification  of  the  decrees  and  orders  of  the 
belligerents,  so  that  they  should  cease  to  violate  our  neutral 
rights  was  alone  required.  In  the  second,  other  matter  was 
blended  with  them,  although  the  words  of  the  two  acts  were 
identically  the  same.  This  grew  out  of  the  insidious  let- 
ter of  the  Duke  of  Cadore,  the  terms  of  which  were  accepted, 
with  the  conditions  annexed,  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  These  conditions  presented  two  alternatives:  "That 
England  should  revoke  her  orders  in  council  and  abolish  those 
principles  of  blockade  which  France  alleged  to  be  new,  or 
that  the  United  States  should  cause  their  flag  to  be  respected 
by  the  English" — in  other  words,  should  become  parties  to 
the  war  on  the  side  of  France.  In  order  to  know  what  these 
principles  were,  the  renunciation  of  which  we  were  to  re- 
quire at  the  instigation  of  France,  it  would  be  necessary  to 
attend  to  the  language  of  the  French  decrees.  By  these  it 
would  not  be  denied  that  principles,  heretofore  unheard  of, 


76  Hhtory  of  Prince  Edward  County 

were  attempted  to  be  interpolated  into  the  laws  of  nations.^'* 
— Principles  diametrically  adverse  to  those  which  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  had  repeatedly  recognized  in  their 
correspondence  with  foreign  powers  as  well  as  in  their  publick 
treaties,  to  be  legitimate  and  incentestible.  The  French 
doctrine  of  blockade  behind  the  only  branch  of  the  subject 
embraced  in  the  Duke  of  Cadore's  letter  of  the  5th  of  August, 
1810,  would  alone  be  noticed.  These  required  that  the  right 
of  blockade  be  restricted  "to  fortified  ports,  invested  by  sea 
and  by  land. — That  it  should  not  extend  to  the  mouths  of 
rivers,  harbours  or  places  not  fortified." 

Under  such  definition  the  blockade  of  May  1806,  other-, 
wise  called  Mr.  Fox's  blockade,  stood  condemned — but  Mr. 
Randolph  had  no  hesitation  in  affirming  that  blockade  to 
have  been  legal,  agreeably  to  the  long  established  princi- 
ples of  national  law,  sanctioned  by  the  United  States.  In 
Mr.  Foster's  letter  of  the  3rd  of  July  last  to  Mr.  Monroe,  he 
says — "the  blockade  of  May  1806  was  notified  by  Mr.  Sec- 
retary Fox  on  this  principle  ("that  no  blockade  can  be  justifi- 
able or  valid  unless  it  be  supported  by  an  adequate  force 
destined  to  maintain  it  and  to  expose  to  hazard  all  vessels 
attempting  to  evade  its  operation")  nor  was  the  blockade 
announced,  until  he  had  satisfied  himself  by  a  communica- 
tion with  the  board  of  Admiralty,  that  the  Admiralty  pos- 
sessed the  means,  and  would  employ  them,  of  watching  the 
whole  coast  from  Brest  to  Elbe  and  of  effectually  enforcing 
the  blockade. 

"The  blockade  of  May  1806,  according  to  the  doctrine  main- 
tained by  Great  Britain,  was  just  and  lawful  in  its  origin 
because  it  was  supported  both  in  intention  and  in  fact,  by 
an  adequate  naval  force."  In  a  subsequent  part  of  the  same 
letter  it  is  distinctly  averred  that  "that  blockade  was  main- 
tained by  a  sufficient  naval  force :"  and  the  doctrine  of  paper 
hlockade  is  every  where  disclaimed  in  the  correspondence, 
here  as  well  as  at  I^ndon.    "If  (says  Mr.  Foster) )  the  orders 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  77 

in  council  should  be  abrogated,  the  blockade  of  May  1806 
could  not  continue  under  owr  construction  of  the  law  of  na- 
tions^ unless  that  blockade  should  he  maintained  hy  a  due  af- 
plication  of  an  adequate  naval  force?^  The  same  admission 
will  be  found  in  Marquis  Wellesley's  correspondence  with 
Mr.  Pinkney. 

The  coast  of  France  from  Brest  to  Calais  is  what  seamen 
call  an  iron-bound  coast.  It  had  been  blockaded  in  every  war 
during  the  last  century,  that  short  period  of  the  American 
War  excepted,  when  England  lost  the  mastery  of  the  channel. 
No  British  minister  would  be  suffered  to  hold  his  place,  who 
should  fail  strictly  to  watch  the  opposite  coast  of  France. 
Brest,  her  principal  naval  arsenal,  protruded  out  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  confessed  the  want  of  suitable  harbours  for 
ships  of  war  in  the  channels,  while  from  Plymouth,  Ports- 
mouth, and  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  the  opposite  coast  is 
easily  watched  and  overawed.  From  Calais  to  the  Elbe  the 
coast  is  low,  flat  and  shelving,  difficult  of  access,  affording 
few  good  inlets,  indeed  none  except  the  Scheldt.  The  block- 
ade of  this  coast  is  as  easy  as  that  of  Carolina.  But  it  must 
not  pass  unnoticed  that  the  blockade  was  in  point  of  fact, 
(as  appears  from  Mr.  Monroe's  letters  to  Mr.  Madison  of 
the  17th  and  20th  of  May  1806)  limited  to  a  small  extent  of 
the  coast  between  Havre  and  Ostend ;  neutrals  being  per- 
mitted to  trade,  freely,  eastward  of  Ostend,  and  westward  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Seine  "except  in  articles  contrabrand  of  war 
and  enemies'  property  which  are  seizible  without  blockade." 
And  Mr.  Monroe,  in  announcing  this  very  blockade  of  May 
16,  1806,  to  his  own  government,  speaks  of  it  as  a  measure 
highly  satisfactory  to  the  commercial  interests.  And  yet  the  re- 
moval of  this  blockade,  against  which  Mr.  Monroe  did  not 
remonstrate,  of  which  there  was  no  mention  in  the  subse- 
quent arrangement  of  Mr.  Erskine,  which  did  not  stand  in 
the  way  of  that  arrangement  of  which  no  notice  was  taken 
in  our  proposition  to  England  for  a  mutual  abandonment  of 


78  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

our  embargo  and  her  orders  in  council,  is  now  by  French 
device  and  contrivance  to  be  made  a  sine  qua  non,  an  indis- 
pensable preliminary  to  all  accommodation  with  Great  Brit- 
ain! 

Mr.  Randolph  had  heard  with  sincere  satisfaction  many 
respectable  gentlemen  in  the  House  and  out  of  it,  express  a 
wish,  that,  by  a  revocation  of  the  orders  in  council,  the  British 
ministry  would  put  it  in  the  power  of  our  government  to 
come  to  some  adjustment  of  our  differences  with  England. 
The  position  which  he  was  about  to  lay  down,  and  the  proof 
of  which  the  course  of  his  argument  had  compelled  him  in 
some  degree  to  anticipate,  however  it  might  startle  persons  of 
this  description,  was  nevertheless  susceptible  of  the  most 
direct  and  positive  evidence.  Little  did  these  gentlemen 
dream,  but  such  was  the  indisputable  fact,  that  their  removal 
at  this  moment  would  not  satisfy  our  administration.  In 
Lord  Wellesley's  letter  to  Mr.  Pinkney  of  Dec.  29,  1810,  he 
says:  "If  nothing  more  had  been  required  of  G.  Britain, 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  continuation  of  the  repeal 
of  the  French  decrees,  than  the  repeal  of  our  orders  in  coun- 
cil I  should  not  have  hesitated  to  declare  the  perfect  readi- 
ness of  this  government  to  fulfill  that  condition.  On  these 
terms  the  British  government  has  always  been  seriously  dis- 
posed to  repeal  the  orders  in  council.  It  appears  however, 
not  only  by  the  letter  of  the  French  minister,  but  by  your 
explanation,  that  the  repeal  of  the  orders  in  council  will 
not  satisfy  either  the  French  or  the  American  governments. 
The  British  government  is  further  required  by  the  letter  of 
the  French  minister  to  renounce  those  principles  of  blockade 
which  the  French  government  alleges  to  be  new." 

This  fact  is  placed  beyond  a  doubt,  by  Mr.  Pinkney's 
answer  of  the  14th  January,  1811.  "If  I  comprehend  the 
other  parts  of  your  Lordship's  letter,"  says  he,  "they  declare 
in  effect  that  the  British  Government  will  repeal  nothing  out 
of  the  Orders  in  Council y--2Lnd  again,  "It  is  certairdy  true 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  79 

that  the  American  Government  has  required  as  indispensa- 
ble in  the  view  of  its  acts  of  intercourse  and  non-intercourse, 
the  annulment  of  the  British  blockade  of  May  1806." 

Thus  when  the  British  Government  stood  pledged  to 
repeal  its  Orders  in  Council,  a  question  entirely  distinct,  has 
been  dexterously  mingled  with  it  in  our  discussions  with 
England;  the  renunciation  of  the  right  of  blockade  in  the 
face  of  Mr.  Madison's  construction  of  the  non-intercourse 
law,  and  of  Mr.  Smith's  instructions  to  General  Armstrong 
of  July  5,  and  2nd  November,  1810,  has  been  declared  in- 
dispensable in  the  view  of  that  act,  and  there  is  the  fullest 
admission  that  more  than  the  repeal  of  the  Orders  in  Council 
was  required ;  viz,  of  that  blockade,  against  which  we  had  not 
lifted  our  voice,  until  required  to  do  so  by  France,  which  Mr. 
Monroe  (so  far  from  remonstrating  against  it,  which  would 
Have  been  his  duty  to  have  done  if  illegal)  consider  it 
"«5  highly  satisfactory  to  the  commercial  interests,''''  A  block- 
ade easy  as  would  be  that  of  the  ports  of  Chesapeake,  with  a 
sufficient  force  stationed  in  Lynn  Haven  Bay.  What  is  a 
legal  blockade?  A  blockade  with  such  force  as  renders  the 
approach  of  merchant  vessels  dangerous. 

Mark  the  wonderful  facility  with  which  Mr.  Pinkney, 
not  only  blends  the  question  of  the  blockade  of  May  1806, 
with  the  repeal  of  the  Orders  in  Council;  but  his  disposition 
to  go,  if  he  could^  the  whole  length  of  the  French  doctrine  of 
blockade;  a  doctrine  unheard  of  before  the  reign  of  Bona- 
parte. "It  is  by  no  means  clear  that  it  may  not  fairly  be 
contended  on  principle  and  early  usage  that  a  maritime 
blockade  is  incomplete  with  regard  to  states  at  peace,  unless 
the  place  which  it  affects,  is  invested  hy  land  a^  well  as  hy 
seay  And  yet  in  the  same  letter  he  says,  "You  will  imagine 
that  the  repeal  is  not  to  remain  in  force,  unless  the  British 
government,  in  addition  to  the  revocation  of  its  Orders  in 
Council,  abandon  its  system  of  blockade.  I  am  not  conscious 
of  having  stated,  as  your  Lordship  seems  to  think,  that  this 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


is  so,  and  I  believe  in  fact  that  it  is  otherwise.  Even  if  it 
were  admitted  however,  the  Orders  in  Council  ought  never- 
theless to  be  revoked." 

The  American  doctrine  of  blockade  is  expressly  laid 
down  in  Mr.  Smith's  letter  to  Commodore  Preble  of  the  4th  of 
February,  1804.  "Whenever  therefore  you  shall  have  formed 
a  blockade  of  the  port  of  Tripoli  ('so  as  to  create  an  evident 
danger  on  entering  it')  you  will  have  a  right  to  capture  for 
adjudication,  any  vessel  that  shall  attempt  to  enter  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  blockade."  The  very  same  doctrine  against 
which,  at  the  instigation  of  France,  we  are  now  about  to 
plunge  into  war! 

Mr.  Randolph  said  he  was  compelled  to  omit  many  strik- 
ing proofs  of  his  positions,  from  absolute  weakness  and  in- 
ability, to  read  the  voluminous  extracts  from  the  documents 
before  him.  If  the  offer  should  be  made  of  a  repeal  of  the 
Orders  of  Council  which  our  people  at  home,  good  easy  souls, 
supposed  to  be  the  only  obstacle,  the  wound,  as  after  the 
accommodation  of  the  affair  of  the  Chesapeake,  would  still 
remain  incurable.  He  had  not  touched  upon  the  subject  of 
impressment,  because,  notwithstanding  the  use  which  had  been 
made  of  it  in  that  House  and  in  the  publick  prints,  it  did 
not  constitute,  according  to  the  showing  of  our  own  govern- 
ment, an  obstacle  to  accommodation;  (the  orders  in  council 
and  question  of  blockade  being  the  avowed  impediments)  and 
because  it  appears  from  Mr.  Monroe's  letter  of  the  28th  Feb- 
ruary 1808  "that  the  ground  on  which  that  interest  was 
placed  by  the  paper  of  the  British  commissioners  of  Nov.  8, 
1806,  and  the  explanations  which  accompanied  it,  was  hoth 
honourahle  and  advantageous  to  the  United  States.  That  it 
contained  a  concession  in  their  favor  on  the  part  of  Great 
Britain,  on  the  great  principle  in  contestation,  never  before 
made,  by  a  formal,  obligatory  act  of  the  government,  which 
was  highly  favorable  to  their  interests." 

In  fact  the  rejection  of  Mr.  Monroe's  treaty  had  alone 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  81 

prevented  the  settlement  upon  honourable  terms,  of  this^  as 
well  as  of  every  other  topic  of  difference  between  the  two 
governments. 

He  called  the  attention  of  the  House  to  Mr.  Smith's  letter 
to  Mr.  Armstrong  of  July  5,  1810,  requiring,  in  the  name  of 
the  President,  restitution  of  our  plundered  property  as  "a 
peliminary  to  accommodation  between  the  two  governments," 
— "As  has  been  heretofore  stated  to  you,  a  satisfactory  pro- 
vision for  restoring  the  property  lately  surprised  and  seized 
by  the  order,  or  at  the  instance  of  the  French  government 
must  he  combined  with  a  repeal  of  tlie  French  edicts  with  a 
view  to  non-intercourse  with  Great  Britian;  such  a  provision 
being  an  indispensable  evidence  of  the  just  purpose  of  France 
towards  the  U.  States!"  Yet  no  restitution  had  been  made: 
"that  affair  is  settled  by  the  law  of  reprisal."  What  had 
been  the  language  held  on  this  floor  and  by  ministers  of 
state  in  official  communications  to  committees  of  Congress? 
"that  the  return  of  the  Hornet  should  be  conclusive  as  to  our 
relations  with  France.  That  if  Mr.  Barlow  should  not  suc- 
ceed in  attaining  the  most  complete  redress  for  the  past  and 
assurances  for  the  future  we  would  take  the  same  stand 
against  her  as  against  Great  Britain;  that  any  uncertainty 
as  to  his  success  would  be  equivalent  to  the  certainty  of  his 
failure."  Such  was  the  language  held  until  the  fact  occurred, 
that  NO  satisfaction  had  been,  or  was  likely  to  be  obtained. 
Indeed,  for  some  days  after  the  arrival  of  the  Hornet,  these 
opinions  had  been  maintained.  They  had  however  gradually 
died  away  and  it  was  only  within  48  hours  past  that  a  differ- 
ent language  had  been  held.  Was  it  necessary  to  remind  the 
House  of  the  shuffling  conduct  and  policy  of  France  toward 
us?  Of  the  explanation  attempted  by  DECREES,  the  min- 
ister of  marine,  in  relation  to  the  Berlin  Decree  and  the  sub- 
sequent annunciation  of  his  government  to  Mr.  Armstrong, 
with  true  French  sang  froidj  that  "as  there  was  no  excepting 
of  the  United  States  in  the  terms  of  the  decrees,  so  there  was 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


no  reason  for  excepting  them  from  their  operation."  Have 
we  forgotten  Champagny's  declaration  of  war  in  our  name, 
"War  exists  then  in  fact  between  England  and  the  United 
States  and  his  majesty  considers  it  as  declared." — In  short, 
for  years  past  France  has  required  us  to  make  war  witli  Eng- 
land as  the  price  of  jiiidefined  commercial  concessions  from 
her.  We  have  been  told  "that  we  ought  to  tear  to  pieces  the 
act  of  our  independence — that  we  were  more  dependent  than 
Jamaica — ^that  we  were  without  just  political  ^dews,  without 
energy,  without  honour,  and  that  we  must  at  last  fight  for 
interest,  after  having  refused  to  fight   for  honour." 

France,  whilst  you  required  of  her  as  a  preliminary  to 
further  accommodation,  the  restitution  of  her  plunder,  de- 
coyed into  her  ports,  required  from  you,  as  preliminary,  a 
war  with  England.  Mr.  Barlow  has  now  been  ten  months  in 
France,  dancing  attendance  upon  her  Court,  without  being 
able  to  obtain  an  answer  to  a  few  plain  questions.  Are  your 
Decrees  repealed? — It  is  considered  as  improper  to  make  the 
enquiry, — Instead  of  the  edict,  rescript,  the  instrument  of  re- 
peal, by  whatsoever  name  it  be  called,  he  sends  us  the  strict- 
ures of  the  French  Grovernment  upon  the  proceedings  of 
the  American  Congress;  and  a  remonstrance  to  the  Duke  of 
Bassano,  that  the  repeal  of  the  Decrees  (in  which  he  is  com- 
pelled to  feign  a  belief,  because  the  President's  proclamation 
is  the  sole  evidence  of  the  fact)  has  not  been  given  in  charge 
to  the  French  cruizers,  but  that  the  publick  ships  of  war 
(Nymph  and  Medusa)  continue  to  hum  our  vessels  on  the 
high  seas.  And  what  does  the  Duke  of  Bassano  tell  him  in 
reply?  The  same  old  story  of  Champagny  to  General  Arm- 
strong—"The  United  States  will  be  entirely  satisfied  on  the 
pending  questions,  and  there  will  be  no  obstacle  to  their  ob- 
taining the  advantages  they  have  in  view,  if  they  succeed 
in  making  their  flag  safeP"*  In  other  words,  make  war  with 
England  and  you  ^ill  be  satisfied  (and  not  until  then)  on 
the  pending  questions.    And  what  are  they?     On  one  of  them 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  83 

the  required  compensation  for  plunder, — your  minister,  after 
waiting  for  months  for  an  oral  answer,  tells  you,  "This  is 
dull  worh^  hard  to  begin  and  difficult  to  execute.''^  This  is 
the  claim  too,  required  by  Mr.  Secretary  Smith,  under  the 
President's  order,  to  be  satisfied  as  a  preliminary  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  overture  of  August  5,  1810!  It  is  possible 
the  Wasp  may  bring  out  something,  just  to  hush  up  com- 
plaints until  we  are  fairly  embarked  in  war;  into  which,  if 
we  enter,  it  will  be  a  war  of  submission  to  the  mandates  of  a 
foreign  Despot — the  basest,  the  most  unqualified,  the  most 
abject  submission.  France  for  years  past  has  offered  us  terms 
(without  specifying  what  they  were)  at  the  price  of  a  war 
with  England,  which,  hitherto  we  have  rejected.  That  price 
must  now  be  paid.  The  Emperor  deals  only  for  ready  money 
—  and  carrying  his  jealousy  further  than  in  the  case  of  the 
President's  Proclamation  (which  he  would  not  believe  until 
its  terms  were  fulfilled)  he  requires  to  be  paid  in  hand  before 
he  will  make  his  equivalent. 

In  the  celebrated  case  of  insult  by  implication,  or  insinua- 
tion, offered  by  Mr.  Jackson,  there  existed  in  the  Archives  of 
the  country,  a  monument  (such  as  it  was)  to  the  insensibility 
of  this  House  to  that  insult. 

If  under  such  circumstances,  without  having  received  any 
shadow  of  indemnity  for  the  past,  or  security  for  the  future — 
if  indeed  security  could  be  given  by  the  French  Emperor — 
the  United  States  becomes  virtually  a  party  to  the  war  in 
his  behalf,  it  must  confirm  bej'^ond  the  possibility  of  doubt, 
every  surmise  that  has  gone  abroad,  however  gross,  however 
injurious  to  the  honour  or  the  interests  of  this  government — 
that  there  exists  in  our  councils  an  undue,  a  fatal  French 
bias.  After  the  declarations  of  official  men,  after  the  lan- 
guage uttered  on  that  floor,  if  the  U.  States  become  parties  to 
the  war  with  France  against  her  rival,  it  must  establish  as 
clearly  as  the  existence  of  the  sun  above  us — this  event  has 
not  happened,  and  God  forbid  it  should — but  if  it  does,  the 


84  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


conclusion  will  be  irresistible,  and  this  government  will  stand 
branded  to  the  latest  posterity,  (unless  the  press  should 
perish  in  the  general  wreck  of  human  liberty)  as  the  pan- 
dars  of  French  despotism — as  the  tools,  the  minions,  syco- 
phants, parasites  of  France.  'Twas  to  secure  the  country  from 
this  opprobrium  that  the  proposition  was  about  to  be  sub- 
mitted. 

This  is  not  like  a  war  for  a  Spanish  succession  or  a 
Dutch  barrier;  for  the  right  of  cutting  logwood  on  a  desert 
coast,  or  fishing  in  the  Polar  sea.  It  is  war  unexampled  in 
the  history  of  mankind — a  war, — separated  as  we  are  from 
the  theatre  of  it  by  a  wide  ocean — from  which  it  behooves  us 
to  stand  aloof — to  set  our  backs  to  the  wall  and  await  the 
coming  of  the  enemy,  instead  of  rushing  out  at  midnight  in 
search  of  the  disturbers  of  our  rest,  when  a  thousand  dag- 
gers are  pointed  at  our  bosoms.  But  it  is  said  we  must  fight 
for  commerce — a  war  for  commerce  deprecated  by  all  the 
commercial  portion  of  our  country,  by  New  England  and 
New  York,  the  greatest  holders  of  our  navigation  and  capital ! 

(Mr.  CALHOUN  called  to  order ;  the  question  of  war  was 
not  before  the  House.  It  was  decided  by  Mr.  Bibb,  then  in 
the  chair,  the  Speaker  having  vacated  a  few  minutes  before 
that  the  objection  was  not  valid,  as  the  gentleman  from  Vir- 
ginia had  announced  his  intention  to  conclude  with  a  motion, 
and  it  had  been  usual  in  such  cases,  to  permit  a  wide  range 
of  debate.) 

Mr.  Randolph  thanked  the  gentleman  from  South  Caro- 
lina for  the  respite  Avhich  he  had  unintentionally  given  him, 
and  which,  in  his  exhausted  situation,  was  highly  grateful. 
This  war  for  commercial  rights  is  to  be  waged  against  the  ex- 
press wish  (constitutionally  pronounced,  spoken  in  langu- 
age which  cannot  be  misunderstood)  of  the  great  commercial 
section  of  the  United  States — a  war  which  must  cut  up  com- 
merce by  the  roots;  which,  in  its  operation,  must  necessarily 
drive  population  and  capital  beyond  the  mountains. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  85 

(Mr.  CALHOUN  said  he  would  give  the  gentleman  from 
Virginia  another  opportunity  to  rest  himself.  He  repeated  his 
call  to  order,  and  the  Speaker  decided  that  the  motion  must  be 
submitted,  reduced  to  writing,  and  seconded  (thus  reversing 
his  own,  and  Dr.  Bibb's  previous  decision).  An  appeal  was 
taken  from  this  decision,  and  it  was  affirmed ;  ayes  67 ;  noes  42. 

Mr.  Kandolph  then  said,  that  under  the  compulsion  of 
the  House,  he  would  submit  his  motion. 

"Resolved,  that  under  existing  circumstances,  it  is  in- 
expedient to  resort  to  war  against  Great  Britain." 

The  motion  was  accordingly  handed  to  the  chair,  and 
being  seconded,  Mr.  Randolph  was  proceeding  to  argue  in 
support  of  it,  when  Mr.  Caliioun  again  interrupted  him  on 
the  ground  that  a  vote  must  be  taken  (without  debate)  ''Ho 
consider  the  motiony  TRe  Speaker  decided  that  this  was  not 
necessary, — and  Mr.  Randolph,  after  thanking  the  Speaker 
for  this  decision,  was  re-commencing  his  observations,  when 
the  objection  being  repeated,  the  Speaker  said  he  had  given 
a  hasty  opinion,  and  reversed  his  decision.  The  vote  to  con- 
sider the  motion  was  then  put  and  negatived;  ayes  37;  noes 
72.    Which  put  a  period  to  all  further  discussion." 


The  Manifestoe;  the  main  body  of  which  has  thus  been 
given;  goes  on  for  a  full  page  to  cite  extracts  from  various 
jetters  and  reports  in  support  of  the  arguments  used  in  the 
main  body  of  the  speech  of  Mr.  Randolph,  but  are  not  neces- 
sary to  our  purpose  here  and  will  be  omitted. 

The  war  party  succeeded  and  the  war  went  on  with  but 
little  glory  to  the  United  States,  and  with  little  advantage 
to  France. 


T^vxntt  Eirnarh  Qlomtlg  in  tly^  War  S^tm^^tt  ttf^  ^tuttB 

1.  Introduction. 

2.  Comparative  Table,  prepared  by  Mr.   C.  G.  Lee. 
8.     Muster  Rolls  of  Prince  Edward  Companies. 

4.  Interesting  Experiences.       "Captain"   Sam  Paulett; 
"The  Old  Reb." 

5.  Local  War  History.    Dr.  James  L.  White;  the  "Be- 
loved PbAsician." 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  89 


PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  IN  THE  WAR  BETWEEN 
THE  STATES 

Introduction 

It  is  extremely  unfortunate  that  even  oificials.  specifically 
charged  with  responsibility^  in  the  premises,  so  often  betray 
but  little  diligence  in  making  and  preserving  important  rec- 
ords and  lists,  and  that  the  public  are  so  slow  in  coming  to 
realize  the  vast  impotrance  of  such  things  to  future  genera- 
tions. 

This  disposition  is  glaringly  evident  in  the  lackadaisical 
manner  in  which  our  war  records  are  kept — or,  rather,  in 
the  way  in  which  they  are  not  kept. 

And  all  this  is  very  evident  in  relation  to  the  records  of 
the  War  Between  the  States.  Only  such  records  of  the  part 
pla3^ed  by  Prince  Edward  county  in  that  colossal  contest  are 
available,  as  have  been  rescued  from  the  rapidly  disappear- 
ing mass,  and  compiled  by  private  citizens.  And  they  are 
pitiably  meagre!  Chief  amongst  those  to  whom  the  county 
owes  a  real  debt  of  gratitude  in  this  connection,  is  Captain 
Sam.  W.  Paulett,  of  Farmville. 

At  the  risk  of  appearing  to  over-balance  the  records, 
we  are  printing  all  the  materials  thus  collected,  in  the  sin- 
cere hope  that  they  may  thus  be  preserved  from  complete 
and  final  disappearance,  in  which  case  Prince  Edward 
county  would  be  indeed  a  serious  loser.  Hence  the  peculiar 
structure  of  this  chapter. 


90 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


TABLE    PREPARED    BY    C.    G.    LEE    OF    WASHINGTON,    D.    C. 
FROM  RECORDS  IN  THE  WAR  DEPARTMENT 


NORTHERN  ARMY 


Whites    from    the    South    

Whites  from  the  North  ..„ 

Negroes  .__ _ „ 

Indians    ..._ _„.. 


Total   ..._....^ _ , „ _ 

Confederate   Armies    all   told   

Numerical   Superiority  of   Northern  Army 


316,424 

2,272,333 

186,017 

3,530 

_.....2,778,304 

600,000 

2,178,304 


STRENGTH  OF  ARMIES  AT  CLOSE  OF  WAR. 

Aggregate    Federal   Army,    May    1st,    1865    1,000,516 

Aggregate  Confederate  Army,  May   1st,   1865  „ 133,433 


Number  of  men  in   battles : 

Seven    Day's    Fight    

Antietem    „.. 

Chancellors ville    _ _ 

Fredericksburg     „ 

Gettysburg 

Chicamauga    _ 

Wilderness    ._._ _. 


Confederate 
80,835 
35,255 
57,212 
78,110 
62,000 
44,000 
141,160 


Federal 
.115,249 
.  87,164 
.131,661 
.110,000 
.  95,000 
.    65,000 


Federal  prisoners   in   Confederate   prisons   ...„ _ _ _....-27 0,000 

Confederate  Prisoners  in  Federal  prisons  _ _ 220,000 

Confederates    died    in    Federal    prisons    26,436 

Federals    died    in    Confederate    prisons    „ 22,570 

The  above  table  shows  that  the  Federals  let  a  little  over  twelve 
per  cent,  of  their  prisoners  die  in  captivity.  While  the  Confeder- 
ates lost  only  eight  and  one-half  per  cent,  of  their  prisoners  by 
death. 

The  above  statement  is  sworn  to  bv  C.  G.  Lee. 


CONFEDERATE     MONUMENT 
Farmville,    Virginia. 

See    Page    89. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  91 

NOTICE! 

The  following  petition  will  be  heard  before  the  county 
court  of  Prince  Edward  on  Monday,  the  19th  day  of  Decem- 

^^'  ^^^^*  W.  H.  THACKSTON,  Clerk. 

To  the  Honorable  J.  M.  Crute,  Judge  of  the  County 
Court  of  Prince  Edward  county: 

The  petition  of  S.  W.  Paulett;  O.  T.  Wicker;  and  R.  D. 
Miller,  respectfully  represents: 

That  your  petitioners  served  as  soldiers  in  the  defense  of 
Virginia  in  the  War  Between  the  States  of  1861  and  1865, 
inclusive ;  that  they  were  members  of  a  company  of  Infantry, 
enlisted  for  the  most  part  in  said  county,  in  the  commence- 
ment of  said  war.  That  said  Company  was  raised  for  the 
defence  of  Virginia  and  did  actually  serve  in  one  of  the 
armies  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  to  wit:  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia,  as  Company  F,  18th  Virginia 
Infantry  Regiment  during  the  whole  war. 

They  file  herewith  a  muster  roll  of  said  Company  of 
Infantry  and  pray  that  the  same  may  be  recorded  among 
the  records  of  said  county.  And  to  that  end  that  your  Honor 
will  require  the  proper  notice  of  this  application  to  be  pub- 
lished and  render  to  your  petitioners  all  such  other  and  fur- 
ther aid  in  the  premises  as  may  be  needed,  and  your  petition- 
ers, as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

S.  W.  Paulett, 
O.  T.  Wicker, 
R.  D.  Miller. 


Virginia: — Prince  Edward  county,  to  wit: 

I,  Richard  A.  Booker,  formerly  Captain  of  Co.  F,  18th 
Virginia    Infantry,   do    certify   that    S.   W.    Paulett,   O.    T. 


92  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Wicker,  and  R.  D.  Miller,  whose  names  are  signed  to  the 
within  petition,  were  members  of  said  Company  of  Infantry 
and  were  thoroughly  reputable  soldiers. 

Richard  A.  Booker, 
Formerly  Captain  Co,  F^  l^th  Va.  Infantry, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  93 

ROLL  OF  COMPANY  F,  FARMVILLE  GUARD, 

18th  VA.  REGIMENT,  HUNTON'S  BRIGADE, 

PICKETT'S  DIVISION.  LONGSTREET'S 

CORPS  OF  INFANTRY.  C.  S.  A. 

Captain — Richard  A.  Booker.  Wounded  at  2nd  battle  of 
Manassas;  resigned  and  afterwards  made  Colonel  of  Re- 
serves and  served  to  the  close  of  the  war. 

1st  Lieutenant — Charles  D.  Anderson;  left  Company 
April,  1862 ;  became  an  officer  in  the  Richmond  City  Battalion 
and  served  during  the  war. 

2nd  Lieutenant — Charles  H.  Erambert.  Resigned  April, 
1862;  became  an  officer  in  the  Richmond  City  Battalion,  and 
served  during  the  war. 

3rd  Lieutenant — Samuel  B.  McKinney.  Health  failed; 
resigned  April,  1862;  served  during  the  war  in  the  Q.  M. 
G.'s  office  at  Richmond. 

1st  Sergeant — Chesley  Wood.  Health  failed;  detailed  in 
Hospital;  served  during  the  war. 

2nd  Sergeant — Wm.  C.  Priddy.  Health  failed;  detailed 
in  Hospital ;  served  during  the  war. 

3rd  Sergeant — Wm.  H.  Pettus.  Transferred  to  Cavalry, 
1862. 

4th  Sergeant — Wm.  G.  Vjenable.    Discharged,  May,  1861. 

1st  Corporal — James  W.  Womack.  Killed  at  Gaines' 
Mill,  1862. 

2nd  Corporal — Robert  E.  Warren.  Health  failed ;  put  in 
a  substitute;  afterwards  entered  the  Cavalry  and  served  dur- 
ing the  war. 


94  Hutory  of  Prince  Edward  County 

3rd  Coropral — C.  D.  Lindsey.  Transferred  to  Co.  K,  18th 
Va.,  Regiment,  April,  1862,  and  served  through  the  war. 

4th  Corporal — Samuel  C.  Price.  Promoted  to  Sergeant- 
Major  of  the  regiment,  February,  1862;  wounded  at  the  2nd 
battle  of  Manassass;  promoted  to  Quarter  Master  of  the 
regiment,  fall  of  1862,  served  during  the  war. 


PRIVATES 

Peyton  B.  Anderson,  Killed  at  Gaines'  Mill,  1862. 

William  F.  Anderson,  withdrew  after  1st  battle  of 
Manassas;  afterwards  served  in  the  Cavalry. 

Z.  A.  Blanton,  promoted  to  Sergeant;  to  Orderly  Ser- 
geant; to  First  Lieutenant;  then  to  Captain;  disabled  by  a 
terrible  wound  in  the  charge  at  Gettysburg. 

George  R.  Boatwright,  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Drury's 
Bluff;  killed  at  Hatcher's  Run,  March  31,  1865. 

Chas.  H.  Brimmer,  health  failed;  detailed  in  hospital, 
where  he  served  during  the  war. 

Thomas  H.  Bryant,  wounded  at  Frazier's  Farm ;  killed  at 
Gettysburg. 

Robert  M.  Burton,  made  orderly  with  staff  of  Gen.  G.  T. 
Beauregard;  there  served  most  of  the  war. 

Allison  Brightwell,  died  in  hospital. 

L.  C.  Butler,—. 

Joseph  E.  Chappell,  wounded  at  Seven  Pines ;  transferred 
to  artillery. 

Thos.  A.  Cli  borne,  wounded  in  several  battles. 
George  W.  Clibome,  died  of  disease,  contracted  in  the 
army. 

E.  B.  Coleman,  transferred  to  Co.  H,  18th  Va. 


History  of  Prmce  Edward  CourUy  95 

Richard  Crafton,  transferred  to  artillery. 

J.  J.  Chernault,  detailed  brigade  butcher. 

W.  M.  Davidson,  served  in  the  field,  then  detailed  as 
Quarter  Master's  clerk. 

C.  H.  Dowdy,  killed  at  Frazier's  Farm. 

J.  S.  Davis,  killed  at  Gettysburg. 

W.  C.  Davis,  put  in  substitute  1862. 

E.  P,  Davis,  put  in  substitute,  December,  1861. 

A.  L.  Deaton,  died  of  typhoid  fever,  September,  1861. 

James  H.  Dunnington.  wounded  and  disabled  at  Gaines' 
Mill,  1862;  afterwards  served  as  Orderly  for  General  Hunton. 

Tom  Dowdy,  wounded  at  Bermuda  Front,  and  died  from 
its  effects. 

Pat  Dougherty,  killed  at  Hatcher's  Run,  31st  March, 
1865. 

J.  T.  East,  died  of  typhoid  fever,  September,  1861. 

Robert  W.  Elam,  promoted  to  Orderly  Sergeant;  killed 
at  Hatcher's  Run,  31st  March,  1865. 

George  W.  Elam,  promoted  to  2nd  Sergeant,  then  to 
Orderly  Sergeant;  killed  at  Gettysburg. 

George  W.  Erambert,  detailed  in  hospital,  October,  1861. 

J.  T.  Elam,  detailed  at  General  Hunton's  headquarters. 

Obediah  East,  wounded  at  Seven  Pines  and  Gettysburg. 

J.  W.  East,  health  failed;  discharged. 

John  Eagles,  wounded  and  disabled. 

Peyton  Enroughty, — . 

A.  L.  Faris,  wounded  and  disabled  at  the  battle  of  Wil- 
liamsburg, May  5th. 

George  R.  Flippen,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill. 

A.  S.  Foster,  transferred  to  Co.  K,  18th  Va.,  killed  at 
Seven  Pines. 

B.  F.  Foster,  served  faithfully  through  the  war. 

S.  B.  Foster,  transferred  to  Co.  C,  18th  Va.,  Regiment, 
April,  1862;  died  about  close  of  the  war. 


96  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

A.  J.  Fowlkes,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill;  promoted  to 
Orderly  Sergeant;  then  to  1st  Lieutenant. 

John  M.  Foster,  captured  at  Grettysburg;  died  at  Point 
Lookout,  Md. 

James  ¥,  Foster, — . 

Kobert  Gilliam,  wounded  at  Gettysburg. 

George  Gills, — . 

Henry  G.  Haines,  transferred  to  Co.  K,  18th  Va.,  April, 
1862 ;  supposed  to  have  been  killed  in  retreat  from  Petersburg. 

B.  J.  Harvey,  detailed  at  Confederate  shops  at  Farmville. 
J.  S.  Harvey,  served  through  the  war. 

B.  A.  Holt,  transferred  to  Co.  C,  18tR  Va.,  April,  1862; 
detailed  at  Richmond,  June,  1862;  became  Captain  of  a  local 
company  of  city  guards. 

T.  A.  Holt,  wounded  at  Sailor's  Creek. 

W.  V.  Holt,  transferred  to  Co.  K,  18th  Va.,  April,  1862. 

R.  M.  Hawkins,  detailed  as  brigade  blacksmith. 

H.  H.  Hooton,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill. 

S.  C.  Hooton,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill,  and  killed  at 
Gettysburg. 

A.  M.  Hughes,  promoted  to  Sergeant,  April,  1862;  killed 
at  Williamsburg,  May  5th. 

J.  W.  Hancock,  health  failed;  discharged,  February, 
1862. 

J.  S.  Hart,  detailed  at  Confederate  shops  at  Farmville. 

Jeff  Hawkins,  transferred  to  19th  Va.  Regiment. 

Jett  Hawkins,  wounded;  transferred  to  19th  Va.  Regi- 
ment. 

Henry  Harvey,  wounded. 

Elisha  Hunt,  killed  at  Gettysburg. 

Tobe  Hudgins,  deserted  at  Gettysburg. 

Johnson  Harvey,  killed  at  Hatcher's  Run,  31st  March, 
1865. 

Jesse  Harvey, — . 

N.  H.  Jackson,  promoted  to  3rd  Lieutenant;  wounded  at 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  97 

2nd  battle  of  Manassas;  resigned,  and  afterwards  served  in 
the  Cavalry. 

Abram  Jenkins,   detailed   as  blacksmith  in  Richmond. 

J  no.  Jenkins,  transferred  to  Cavalry. 

Henry  Jenkins,  detailed  as  blacksmith  in  Richmond. 

Tom  Jenkins,  killed  at  Frazier's  Farm. 

Jno.  Jackson,  killed  at  Hatcher's  Run,  31st  March. 

Archer  Jennings, — . 

Elihu  Morrissett,  transferred  to  Co.  C,  18th  Va.,  April, 
1862;  wounded  and  disabled  at  Gaines'  Mill. 

T.  L.  Morton,  detailed  in  hospital. 

Nat.  S.  Morton,  wounded  at  Drury's  Bluff;  promoted  to 
1st  Corporal. 

Wm.  H.  Morton,  made  Color  Corporal,  April,  1862; 
wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill;  transferred  to  Cavalry. 

H.  C.  Middleton,  detailed  in  hospital. 

W.  J.  Morrissett,  elected  Lieutenant  at  Orange  C.  H.; 
promoted  to  Captain;  slightly  wounded  once  or  twice. 

Eddie  Miller,  left  marker. 

R.  D.  Miller,  captured  at  Gettysburg  and  kept  in  prison 
many  months. 

John  Moss, — . 

Rod  Mayo, — . 

William  A.  Miller,  promoted  to  1st  Lieutenant;  wound- 
ed at  Gettysburg. 

J.  H.  Minor,  transferred  to  Co.  E,  April,  1862;  health 
failed;  detailed  in  hospital. 

T.  F.  McKinney,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill;  afterwards 
served  in  Cavalry. 

W.  J.  Nash,  wounded  at  Frazier's  Farm;  promoted  to 
Corporal. 

Thos.  J.  Osborne,  discharged, — ill-health. 

V.  C.  Overton,  died  of  typhoid  fever,  February,  1862. 

Richard  H.  Page,  killed  at  Frazier's  Farm. 


98  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

John  H.  Pearson,  died  of  disease,  contracted  by  ex- 
posure. 

Samuel  B.  Partin, — . 

John  E.  Paterson,  detailed  in  hospital  during  1861 ;  made 
Commissary  of  16th  Va.  Regiment,  1862. 

T.  J.  Paulett,  wounded  at  Gettysburg. 

H.  A.  Paulett.— 

Samuel  W.  Paulett,  right  marker;  wounded  at  2nd  Man- 
assas; slightly  wounded  and  captured  at  Gettysburg;  severe- 
ly wounded  and  captured  at  Sailor's  Creek,  6th  April,  1865. 

Tom  Price,  killed  at  Bermuda  Front. 

E.  T.  Rice,  detailed  in  hospital. 

Chas.  R.  Richardson,  detailed  as  clerk,  October,  1861; 
afterwards  returned  to  Company;  killed  at  Bermuda  Front. 

Walter  H.  Richardson,  discharged  as  farmer,  Sept.,  1861. 

Jno.  W.  Ransom,  made  Sergeant  of  Company. 

Jesse  Robertson,  wounded  terribly  and  died. 

T.  L.  Robertson, — . 

J.  J.  Riggins,  captured  at  Gettysburg. 

George  M.  Setzer,  wounded  at  Frazier's  Farm;  pro- 
moted to  Corporal;  killed  at  Gettysburg. 

W.  G.  Stratton,  wounded  at  Hatcher's  Run,  31st  March, 
1865. 

W.  F.  Smith,  transferred  to  Co.  K,  18th  Va.,  April,  1862. 

Wm.  Smith,—. 

Joel  W.  Toney,  discharged  1862:  joined  again  in  1864. 

Wm.  A.  Tuggle,  killed  at  Frazier's  Farm. 

-"  Tompkins,  wounded  at  Hatcher's  Run,  31st  March, 
1865. 

Cicero  A.  Verser,  transferred  to  Co.  C,  18th  Va.,  April, 
1862;  killed  at  Gaines'  Mill. 

Ed.  Verser, — . 

Paul  C.  Venable,  transferred  to  Co.  D,  18th  Va.,  Feb., 
1862;    promoted   to   Ordinance    Sergeant   of   the   regiment; 


HiMory  of  Pi^'mce  Edward  County  90 

afterwards  promoted  to  Captain  of  Ordinance,  on  Gen.  Wade 
Hampton's  Staff. 

C.  M.  Walker,  transferred  to  Cavalry,  and  wounded  at 
Spottsylvania  C.  H.,  Stevensburg,  and  Winchester. 

L.  A.  Warren,  promoted  to  Sergeant,  and  afterwards 
made  Quarter-Master  Sergeant. 

W.  H.  H.  Walthall,  promoted  to  Color  Corporal. 

Thos.  Weaver,  killed  at  Bermuda  Front. 

B.  C.  Wells,  served  through  the  war. 

T.  A.  Wells,  served  through  the  war. 

W.  C.  Wells,—. 

W.  Archer  Wilson,  killed  at  1st  battle  of  Manassas;  first 
man  of  the  Company  killed  in  battle. 

Abram  !N^.  Womack,  discharged  for  disease  and  over-age. 

Nathan  B.  Womack,  discharged;  afterwards  rejoined. 

W.  T.  Worsham,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill;  killed  at 
Gettysburg. 

Tom  Walden,  died  at  Point  Lookout,  Md. 

Peter  Wells,—. 

J.  T.  Wilkerson,  discharged;  afterwards  put  in  19th  Va. 

O.  T.  Wicker,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill;  2nd  Manassas; 
Flint  Hill;  Gettysburg;  and  Bermuda  Front. 

Edgar  Wicker, — . 

Jno.  D.  Walthall,  wounded  at  Gaines'  Mill;  and  Gettys- 
burg. 

Conrad  Zimmerman,  wounded  and  disabled  at  Gaines' 
Mill;  afterwards  served  as  Conscript  Officer. 

NOTE:  (The  foregoing  most  excellent  summary  of 
Company  F,  was  made  under  the  personal  supervision  of 
"Captain"  S.  W.  Paulett.) 

NOTE:  (R.  D.  Miller,  one  of  the  signers  of  this  peti- 
tion, died  in  October,  1921,  and  was  buried  in  Farmville 
cemetery.) 


100  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

KOLL  OF  CENTRAL  GUARD  OF  COMPANY  I,  23rd 
REGIMENT  VIRGINIA  VOLUNTEERS  C.  S.  A. 


NOTICE. 


The  following  petition  will  be  heard  before  the  County 
Court  of  Prince  Edward,  on  the  21st  of  April,  1899. 

W.  H.  THACKSTON,  Clerk. 


To  the  Honorable  Judge  of  the  County  Court  of  Prince  Ed- 
ward county: 

The  petition  of  N.  H.  Garland,  C.  C.  Bass,  and  F.  H. 
Davis  respectfully  represents: — • 

That  your  petitioners  served  as  soldiers  in  defense  of 
Virginia  in  the  War  Betweei^  the  States  of  1861  and  1865,  in- 
clusive; that  they  were  members  of  a  Company  of  Infantry 
enlisted  for  the  most  part  in  the  said  county,  in  the  commence- 
ment of  said  war.  That  said  Company  was  raised  for  the 
defense  of  Virginia,  and  did  actually  serve  in  one  of  the 
armies  of  the  Confederate  States,  to  wit:  in  the  Army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  as  Company  I,  23rd  Virginia  Regiment, 
during  the  whole  war. 

They  file  herewith  a  muster  roll  of  said  Company  of 
Infantry  and  pray  that  the  same  may  be  recorded  among  the 
records  of  said  county.  And  to  that  end  that  your  Honor 
will  require  the  proper  notice  of  this  application  to  be  pub- 
lished, and  to  render  to  your  Petitioners  all  such  other  and 
further  aid  in  the  premises  as  may  be  needed,  and  your  Peti- 
tioners, as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray,  etc. 

C.  C.  Bass, 
F.  H.  Davis, 
N.  H.  Garland. 


HiMory  of  Prince  Edward  County  101 

Virginia: — Prince  Edward  county,  to  wit: 

I,  Branch  Worsham,  formerly  Lieutenant  of  Co.  I,  23rd 
Virginia  Infantry,  C.  S.  A.,  do  certify  that  C.  C.  Bass,  N.  H. 
Garland,  and  F.  H.  Davis,  whose  names  are  signed  to  the 
above  petition,  were  members  of  said  Company  of  Infantry, 
and  were  thoroughly  reputable  soldiers. 

B.  Worsham, 
Lieutenant  Co.  /,  ^2trd  Fa.,  Infantry, 

ROLL  OF  CENTRAL  GUARD  OF  COMPANY  I,  23rd 
REGIMENT  VIRGINIA  VOLUNTEERS 

This  Company  was  organized  at  Prince  Edward  court- 
house (now  Worsham)  and  was  the  third  to  leave  the  county; 
was  mustered  into  service  May  22nd,  1861,  at  Richmond,  and 
on  Sunday,  June  9th,  1861,  left  Richmond  for  Northwest  Vir- 
ginia, the  Regiment  being  commanded  by  Colonel  William 
B.  Taliaferro. 

Captain,  Moses  T.  Hughes;  commanded  until  the  battle 
of  Carriclcsford,  July  13th,  1861,  when  he  resigned. 

1st  Lieutenant,  J.  P.  Fitzgerald;  commissioned  Captain 
of  the  Company  from  July  25th,  1861.  Commissioned  Major 
of  the  regiment  from  June  10th,  1863,  and  Lieutenant- Colonel 
from  the  27th  of  November,  1863.  Wounded  at  Sharpsburg; 
captured  at  Spottsylvania ;  carried  to  Fort  Delaware,  and 
from  thence  to  the  coast  of  South  Carolina;  exchanged  at 
Charleston,  July,  1864.  Was  with  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia  at  the  surrender  at  Appomattox. 

2nd  Lieutenant,  Branch  Worsham;  captured  at  the  battle 
of  Carricksford.  Appointed  clerk  of  the  Circuit  Court  of 
Prince  Edward. 

3rd  Lieutenant,  William  G.  Trueheart;  elected  1st  Lieu- 
tenant, July  20th,  1861;  subsequently  resigned  and  joined 
the  Prince  Edward  company  of  Cavalry. 

1st  Sergeant,  Nathaniel  G.  Jones ;  served  until  discharged. 
Afterwards  served  in  the  18th  Virginia  Regiment. 


102  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

2nd  Sergeant,  Henry  Venable;  killed  in  the  battle  of 
Carricksford,  July  13th,  1861. 

3rd  Sergeant,  Christopher  C.  Bass;  wounded  at  Mc- 
Dowell, May  8th,  1862;  served  until  July,  1862,  when  he  was 
discharged  for  physical  disability. 

4th  Sergeant,  Gustavus  A.  Bass;  elected  1st  Lieutenant 
at  the  re-organization  in  May,  1862.  He  commanded  the 
Company  at  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  1863,  where  he 
was  killed. 

6th  Sergeant,  James  H.  Thackston;  captured  on  the  re- 
treat from  Northwest  Virginia,  and  paroled,  and  when  he 
was  exchanged,  joined  some  other  company. 

1st  Corporal,  Henry  W.  Edmunds;  wounded  at  the  battle 
of  Carricksford,  July  13th,  1861;  captured  and  paroled,  and 
when  exchanged,  joined  the  Cavalry,  and  was  again  severely 
wounded.  . 

2nd  Corporal,  Thomas  R.  Farrar;  killed  at  the  battle  of 
McDowell,  May  8th,  1862;  body  sent  home  and  buried  in 
Prince  Edward. 

3rd  Corporal,  George  W.  Cliborne;  exchanged  into  Com- 
pany F,  18th  regiment  in  1863. 

4th  Corporal,  William  L.  Gutherie;  elected  3rd  Lieuten- 
ant at  the  re-organization  of  the  Company  in  May  1862;  on 
the  death  of  Lieutenant  G.  A.  Bass,  was  made  1st  Lieutenant, 
and  became  Captain  of  the  Company  in  1863;  was  captured 
at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse,  May  12,  1864,  and  taken  to 
Point  Lookout,  and  thence  to  Morris  Island,  S.  C,  and,  on 
being  taken  back  to  Lookout,  died  there  from  exposure  and 
hardships  endured  while  in  prison. 

5th  Corporal,  John  M.  Booker;  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Sharpsburg,  September  17th,  1862. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  103 

PKIVATES 

J.  D.  Allen,  discharged  for  physical  disability. 

John  J.  Allen,  discharged,  January,  1862. 

John  R.  Allen,  captured  July,  1861  on  the  retreat  from 
Northwest  Virginia,  and  paroled  when  exchanged,  and  did 
not  rejoin  the  Company. 

Robert  P.  Anderson,  transferred  in  June,  1861,  to  Captain 
J.  M.  P.  Atkinson's  Company  (Hampden- Sidney  boys) ; 
captured  at  Rich  Mountain,  July,  1861,  and,  when  exchanged, 
joined  the  Artillery. 

Elisha  S.  Boatwright,  served  until  late  in  the  war,  and 
discharged. 

Richard  F.  Burke,  served  through  the  war. 

Henry  C.  Campbell,  discharged,  August  1st,  1861,  on 
account  of  physical  disability. 

Wm.  H.  Campbell. 

John  A.  Chappell,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse. 
May  12th,  1864;  imprisoned  at  Point  Lookout  until  the  close 
of  the  war. 

John  Carter,  killed  at  Carricksford,  July  13th,  1861. 

Elijah  F.  Collins,  killed  at  Carricksford,  July  13th,  1861. 

John  W.  Cave,  wounded  at  Carricksford. 

James  A.  Chrisp,  served  until  late  in  the  war,  when  dis- 
charged for  physical  disability. 

Jeremiah  G.  Daub,  wounded  in  the  arm  at  McDowell, 
May  8th,  1862,  and  discharged. 

Fayette  H.  Davis,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse, 
May  12th,  1864,  and  kept  a  prisoner  at  Fort  Delaware  un- 
til the  close  of  the  war. 

Richard  A.  Davis,  captured  on  the  retreat  from  North- 
west Virginia,  July,  1861,  and  paroled;  when  exchanged, 
jomed  another  company. 

Joshua  Foster;  killed  at  Carricksford,  July  13th,  1861. 

Nelson  H.  Garland,  was  made  1st  Sergeant  of  the  Com- 
pany, and,  at  the  re-organization  in  May  1862,  was  elected 


104  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

2nd  Lieutenant,  and  at  the  battle  of  McDowell,  May  glh,  1862, 
was  disabled  by  a  wound  through  the  arm,  and  after  that 
was  on  detached  service. 

John  R.  Hughes,  discharged  July,  1861,  for  physical  dis- 
ability. 

Shadrach  H.  Hines,  discharged  at  the  end  of  the  first 
year's  service  as  being  over  forty-five  years  old. 

Thomas  L.  Hines,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse 
and  retained  a  prisoner  at  Fort  Delaware  until  the  war  ended. 

Samuel  C.  Hines,  discharged  for  physical  disability. 

James  H.  Hailey. 

William  Hamilton,  died  of  disease,  September,  1861. 

Francis  Hamilton,  served  through  the  war. 

James  Hamilton;  served  through  the  war. 

Irby  King,  killed  at  Carricksford,  July  13th,  1861. 

Drury  Lacy,  wounded  at  Carricksford,  July  13th,  1861; 
elected  Lieutenant  1863;  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Court- 
house, May  12th,  1864;  carried  to  Point  Lookout,  and  thence 
to  the  coast  of  South  Carolina,  and  afterwards  exchanged  at 
Chambersburg. 

Matthew  L.  Meadow,  captured  July,  1861,  and  never  re- 
turned for  duty. 

Overton  Meadow,  served  through  the  war. 

Wm.  J.  Morris,  wounded  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse, 
May  12th,  1864,  captured  and  not  released  until  the  close 
of  the  war. 

Elijah  Morgan,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse. 

T.  W.  Price. 

Joseph  B.  Price. 

Albert  G.  Rogers,  served  through  the  war. 

T.  H.  Rogers,  wounded  in  the  leg  at  Sharpsburg,  served 
to  the  end  of  the  war. 

R.  T.  Rice,  discharged  in  March,  1862,  for  physical  dis- 
ability. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  105 

John  F.  Rice,  Jr.,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse, 
May  12th,  1864,  and  not  exchanged  until  after  the  war. 

F.  S.  Scott,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse. 

Robert  C.  Thackston,  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain, 
August  9th,  1862,  and  died  of  his  wound  in  the  hospital. 

John  S.  Watson,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Courthouse, 
May  12th,  1864,  and  taken  to  Fort  Delaware;  on  his  return, 
afterwards  accidentally  drowned  by  falling  overboard  the 
steamer   at   Baltimore. 

John  M.  Williamson,  captured  July,  1861,  and  never  re- 
turned to  his  Company. 

Benjamin  A.  Womack,  captured  at  Spottsylvania  Court- 
house. 

RECRUITS  WHO  JOINED  THE  COMPANY  IN  THE 

FIELD 

1861 

N.  E.  Venable,  served  in  1861  in  the  Marine  Corps,  and, 
in  September,  1864,  resigned  his  commission  and  entered 
this  Company  as  a  private;  was  promoted  to  the  Lieuten- 
ancy; was  commander  of  the  Company  at  Kernstown. 

C.  R.  Venable,  joined  the  Company  September,  1861,  and 
was  made  Sergeant. 

1862 

Wm.  D.  Allen,  captured  at  Spottsylvania. 

James  J.  Bigger,  died  of  disease. 

Archer  L.  Bagby,  captured  at  Spottsylvania. 

Robert  Fitzgerald,  died  of  disease. 

John  E.  Campbell. 

Richard  Crafton,  killed  at  the  Wilderness. 

Beverley  Dupuy,  killed  at  Chancellors ville. 


106  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

George  G.  Fowlkes,  killed  at  Chancellorsville. 
James  T.  Fowlkes. 
Minford  Fowlkes. 
Darious  Hash;  died  of  disease. 
John  T.  Hines. 

Stephen  Hines,  died  of  disease. 
George  K.  Hughes,  discharged  and  died. 
John  F.  Jones,  wounded  at  McDowell. 
Wm.  L.  Meadow,  died  of  disease. 
James  M.  Morton,  died  of  disease. 
Nelson  McGeehee,  died  6f  disease. 
James  Phelps,  died  of  disease 
Robert  Reider. 

Robert  K.  Thackston,  wounded  at  Petersburg. 
John  S.  Thackston,  captured  at  Spottsylvania. 
Wm.  A.  Walton,  became  1st  Sergeant  and  was  killed  at 
Sharpsburg. 

James  L.  Waddell. 


(Note:    Fayette  H.  Davis,  one  of  the  signers  of  this 
petition,  died  in  1920,  and  was  buried  in  Farmville  cemetery.) 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  107 

PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  COURT 

December  Term  1898 

On  motion  of  the  petitioners;  W.  H.  Ewing,  J.  F.  Wal- 
ton, and  H,  W.  Edmunds,  and  it  appearing  that  the  Muster 
Roll  of  Company  K,  3rd  Regiment,  of  Virginia  Cavalry,  Fitz 
Lee's  Division,  C.  S,  A.,  has  been  published  for  two  succes- 
sive weeks  in  the  "Farmville  Herald,"  and  the  Court. being 
satisfied  that  the  copy  of  said  Muster  Roll  is  as  perfect  as 
practicable  to  be  made,  doth  order  the  same  to  be  recorded  as 
the  law  directs.  Teste:  W.  H.  THACKSTON,  Clerk. 


Captain,  John  I.  Thornton,  elected  Lieutenant- Colonel  in 
1862.  Killed  at  the  battle  of  Sharpsburg,  1862,  while  in  com- 
mand of  the  3rd  Regiment. 

1st  Lieutenant,  Peyton  R.  Berkeley,  elected  to  Captain  in 
1862.     Resigned  1863. " 

2nd  Lieutenant,  H.  I.  Parrish.  2nd  Lieutenant  at  or- 
ganization; promoted  to  be  "Aid  De  Camp,"  with  rank  of 
Captain;  afterward  Major,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  Colonel 
of  16th  Virginia  Infantry. 

2nd  Lieutenant,  F.  D.  Redd.  Retired  at  re-organizaion 
in  1862. 

2nd  Lieutenant,  Richard  Stokes.    Retired  in  1862. 

1st  Sergeant,  E.  N.  Price,  wounded  at  Five  Forks  in  1865. 

2nd  Sergeant,  Jno.  H.  Knight,  promoted  to  be  1st  Lieu- 
tenant in  1863;  Captain  in  1864,  wounded  at  the  "White 
House." 

3rd  Sergeant,  R.  B.  Berkeley.  Transferred  to  Medical 
Department  in  1863. 

4th  Sergeant,  Frank  H.  Scott. 

1st  Corporal,  L.  M.  Penick. 

2nd  Corporal,  R.  AY.  Dalby. 

3rd  Corporal,  A.  B.  Cralle.  .■>.■. 

4tir  Corporal,  Daniel  I.  Allen. 


108  History  of  Prince  Edward  Cownty 

Drury  L.  Armistead.     Orderly  for   General  Joseph  E. 
Johnston. 

Henry  A.  Allen. 

Charles  B.  Anderson. 

Frank  C.  Anderson. 

H.  Threat  Anderson. 

Charles  I.  Anderson. 

Wesley  W.  Anderson. 

M.  L.  Arvin,  captured  in  the  Valley. 

James  A.  Baker. 

John    W.    Baker,   wounded   at    Front  fRoyial   in    1863, 
and  Spottsylvania  in  1864. 

♦James  JV.  Bell,  elected  Lieutenant  in  1862;  resigned  in 
18G3. 

Clifford  A.  Bondurant,  wounded  at  Kelly's  Ford  in  1863. 

Samuel  J.  Bondurant. 

John  J.  Bondurant,  discharged. 

Samuel  W.  Bondurant,  put  in  substitute. 

W.  A.  Binford. 

George  Booker. 

J.  Horace  Booker. 

William  D.  Booker. 

A.  A.  Bragg,  Quarter-Master  Sergeant  of  the  Company. 

William  Brooks. 

Samuel  A.  Bruce. 

William  A.  Bruce,  orderly  for  Colonel  Owen. 

John  Chaffin. 

William  T.  Crafton. 

John  R.  Cunningham,  wounded  at  Kelly's  Ford  and  dis- 
abled. 

Charles  E.  Clark. 

Charles  W.  Crawley. 

John  M.  Daniel. 

John  P.  Dickinson. 

R.  M.  Dickinson,  transferred  to  Infantry  and  promoted. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  109 

W.  P.  Dupuy,  wounded  at  Buckland  in  1863,  and  Tom's 
Brook  in  1864. 

Henry  W.  Edmunds,  wounded  and  disabled  at  Kelly's 
Ford  in  1863. 

F.  L.  Elliott. 

T.  L.  Elliott. 

John  W.  Elliott. 

R.  C.  Elliott,  promoted  to  Sergeant  and  killed  at  Haws 
Shop  in  1864. 

William  W.  Evans,  wounded  at  Front  Royal  in  1864. 
W.  H.  Ewing,  wounded  at  Front  Royal  in  1864. 
John  J.  Ewing. 
Charles  Flournoy. 

John  J.  Flournoy,  wounded  and  discharged  in  1863. 
Thomas  Flournoy,  transferred. 
Rolin  Foster. 
George  W.  Foster. 
George  Fowlkes. 
James  D.  Fowlkes. 
Lafayette  Garrett,  teamster. 
J.  H.  Guthrie. 

Johnson  Harvey,  killed  at  Sailor's  Creek  in  1865. 
W.  J.  Harvey,  transferred  to  Q.  M.  Dept. 
A.  A.  Haskins,  promoted  to  Lieutenant  in  1863. 
Thomas  E.  Haskins,  promoted  to  Orderly  Sergeant  in 
1862. 

John  Z.  Holladay. 
George  Hunt. 

John  C.  Hunt,  orderly  to  General  Stuart  and  killed  at 
Gettysburg. 

Joby  Hunt,  wounded  and  lost  a  leg. 

John  Jenkins. 

E.  T.  Jeffress.  disabled  and  discharged. 

Frank  Jenkins. 

John  S.  Kelley,  a  substitute.    Captured  in  1864. 


110  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

E.  S.  Lockett. 

Goodrich  Ligon,  died  of  camp  fever  in  1862. 

K.  V.  Ligon. 

George  Nicholas,  a  substitute  and  deserted. 

Charles  Martin,  professor  at  Hampden-Sidney.  Pro- 
moted to  Q.  M.  Dept. 

H.  I.  Meredith,  captured  at  Boonsboro  in  1862.  Elected 
Lieutenant  in  1863. 

E.  A.  Miller. 
B;  M.  Moseley. 
W.  H.  Morton. 

Charles  K.  Moseley,  transferred  to  Infantry. 

F.  J.  Penick,  wounded  at  Charles  City  in  1864. 
Daniel  Price. 

B.  H.  Kagsdall. 

C.  E.  Redd,  put  in  substitute. 
John  A.  Redd. 

John  H.  Redd. 
Joseph  T.  Redd,  discharged. 
J.  Wesley  Redd. 
R.  L.  Redd. 
W.  M.  Richardson. 

James  C.  Rowlett,  wounded  at  Five  Forks  in  1865. 
John  D.  Richardson. 

Junius  C.  Rowlett,  lost  a  leg  at  Front  Royal  in  1864. 
S.  S.  Rowlett. 

Edwin  Scott,  killed  on  Picket  near  Newport  News  in 
1861. 

Lafayette  Scott,  wounded  at  Kelley's  Ford  in  1863. 

James  C.  Spencer,  killed  in  Charles  City  county  in  1864. 

N.  B.  Spencer. 

J.  D.  Spencer. 

L.  A.  Starling. 

P.  B.  Sublett. 

Charles  B.  Spencer. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  111 

Nat.  Thackston,  captured  at  Williamsport  in  1863; 
wounded  at  Trevillians  in  1864. 

A.  K.  Todd. 

W.  C.  Trueheart. 

Charles  Venable. 

A.  R.  Venable,  transferred  to  Q.  M.  Dept.,  and  pro- 
moted to  Captain. 

John  F.  Walton. 

L.  D.  Walton. 

R.  H.  Walton. 

R.  H.  Watkins,  elected  to  Lieutenant  in  1862;  to  Captain 
in  1863;  wounded  at  Aldie  in  1863;  at  Tom's  Brook  in  1864; 
disabled  and  retired. 

Marcus  West. 

Oscar  Wiley,  transferred,  1861. 

Jack  C.  Williams. 

James  H.  Wilson,  killed  at  Haws  Shop  in  1864. 

Ed  Witt,  captured  the  same  day  he  enlisted. 

A.  C.  Womack. 

A.  W.  Womack,  discharged. 

D.  G.  Womack. 

Eugene  Womack,  killed  at  Tom's  Brook  in  1864. 

W.  W.  Womack,  discharged. 

Frank  L.  Womack. 

Willie  W.  Wootton. 

Samuel  T.  Wootten,  wounded  at  Louisa  Court  House. 

Thomas  Watson. 

Jimmy  Womack,  discharged. 


112  History  of  Prince  Edward  Cov/nty 

Note:  (The  following  series  of  articles  regarding  the 
experiences  of  Co.  F,  18th  Va.  Regiment,  in  the  war  between 
the  States,  were  written  by  "Captain"  S.  W.  Paulett,  of 
Farmville,  Prince  Edward  county,  known  locally  as  the  "Old 
Reb,"  who  served  throughout  the  war  in  that  unit,  and  were 
published  in  the  Farmville  "Herald"  during  1897.  They  form 
a  most  interesting,  and  at  the  same  time  a  most  valuable, 
history  of  that  Company,  and  are  well  worth  preserving.) 

PLEASURES  AROUND  THE  CAMP-FIRE- 
INTERESTING  EXPERIENCES 

Thinking  it  might  be  interesting  to  many  of  my  old,  as 
well  as  young  friends,  it  has  often  occurred  to  me  to  write 
in  my  feeble  way,  an  account  of  some  of  the  scenes  and  in- 
cidents through  which  I  passed,  and  was  an  actor,  during  my 
four  years'  service  in  the  so-called  "R^bel  Army." 

Today  my  mind  seems  ill  at  ease.  I  find  it  drifting  back 
to  the  scenes '  of  long  ago ;  ever  and  anon  I  catch  a  faint 
glimpse  of  some  little  incident  happening  along  our  line  of 
march,  or  while  in  camp.  At  this  time  one  in  particular 
looms  up  which  I  think  will  interest  some  of  your  many 
readers.  Returning  from  North  Carolina  in  May,  1863,  my 
division,  (Pickett's)  was  ordered  to  cross  the  Blackwater,  sur- 
round, and  make  an  effort  to  capture  Suffolk,  Va.  We  re- 
mained there  a  few  days,  when  we  were  ordered  to  Peters- 
burg, and  thus  began  the  long  and  weary  march  across  the 
State  of  Virginia,  and  to  Gettysburg,  Pa.  The  incident  re- 
called, and  which  I  wish  to  portray,  occurred  while  in  camp 
near  Hanover  Junction.  We  had,  on  that  day,  made  quite 
a  long  and  weary  march,  and  were  glad  indeed,  to  see  the 
head  of  our  column  file  left  and  enter  a  maple  woods,  where 
we  would  camp  for  the  night.  No  one  but  those  who  par- 
ticipated in  these  stirring  times  have  any  idea  how  light- 
hearted  the  old  Rebs  were,  both  in  camp  and  on  the  march. 
While  many  had  their  fun,  yet  Bob  Miller,  otherwise  known 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  113 

as  "Ilootsy  B,"  and  the  writer,  alias,  "Bonsy,"  were  said 
to  be  the  life  of  our  company,  being  ready  at  all  times,  and 
in  all  places,  to  carry  out  some  devilment  to  relieve  the  te- 
dious hours  as  they  passed. 

Now,  in  our  company,  there  was  a  well-known  character 
by  name  of  Obediah  East,  who  was  always  ready  for  fun  and 
frolic,  and  also  one  of  our  best  soldiers.  It  was  on  this  in- 
dividual we  had  set  our  hearts  on  this  occasion.  I  can  recall 
him  now,  with  his  short-stem  pipe,  sitting  quietly  by  him- 
self near  his  shake-down,  before  retiring  to  obtain  the  much 
needed  rest  all  old  soldiers  know  so  well  how  to  enjoy.  Sit- 
ting thus,  and  jantidipating  the  good  night's  rest,  he  is 
startled  by  the  approach  of  two  striplings,  namely.  Bob 
and  Sam.  Obediah  knows  something  is  up.  The  two  quiet- 
ly take  their  seats  just  opposite  him,  and  they  too  light  their 
pipes  and  begin  to  smoke.  Not  a  word  has  been  spoken. 
Obediah  becomes  restless,  uncomfortable;  he  is  satisfied  we 
are  there  for  a  purpose;  he  can  stand  it  no  longer;  so  he 
jumps  up  and  says:  "Fetch  take  it  all,  what  did  you  two 
little  devils  come  here  for?"  "To  give  you  a  gentle  army 
drag  tonight,  old  boy,"  is  the  reply.  "I  am  blamed  if  you 
do.  I's  gwine  to  set  up  all  night.''  "All  right,  if  you  can  stand 
it,  we  can."  So  silence  once  more  falls  on  the  three,  while 
others  are  watching  to  see  what  the  two  little  devils  are  up 
to.  The  striplings  hold  the  fort.  After  many  hours,  Obediah 
falls  back  and  draws  his  blanket  closely  about  him. 

The  two  little  devils  are  now  wide  awake  and  all  atten- 
tion, awaiting  the  sound  they  knew  was  soon  to  follow. 
Soon  the  snore,  deep  and  loud,  is  heard;  the  time  has  come; 
the  little  ones  are  up  and  ready  for  the  fun.  "Hoots," 
says  Sam,  "get  him  by  the  other  leg."  Hoots  gets  his  hand 
under  the  blanket,  when  he  is  startled  oy  Obediah  saying, 
"Take  your  hand  outen  dar,  I  ain't  sleep  yet."  So  the  boys 
fall  back  and  bide  their  time,  knowing  full  well  the  time 
will  come,  for  Obediah  is  tired  and  sleepy. 


114  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Another  hour  has  passed  and  Obediah  begins  to  twitch, 
squirm,  and  cry  out.  We  now  know  the  time  has  come,  and 
tlirowing  the  blanket  off,  we  each  take  a  leg  and  start  on  the 
run  down  the  hill  toward  the  river,  Obediah  following  like 
greased  lightning  in  our  wake,  and  making  every  effort  to 
break  away,  but  the  two  little  devils  have  him  good  and  fast, 
and  take  him  nearly  to  the  river  and  drop  him  a  hundred 
yards  from  the  starting  point.  We  then  ran  for  our  lives, 
fully  expecting  rock,  stick,  and  oath;  we  are  surprised  to 
hear  Obediah  crying  in  a  loud  voice :  "Fetch  take  it  all,  I  am 
d — n  glad  you  dragged  me,  I  had  one  of  them  blamed  things 
on  me,"  meaning  he  had  a  night-mare,  which  he  was  subject 
to  all  during  the  war. 

Mr.  Editor,  of  such  is  army  life,  and  it  affords  old 
soldiers  much  pleasure  to  review  the  many  pleasant  hours 
spent  around  the  camp-fires.  But  as  we  review  them,  they 
all  remind  us  of  the  solemn  fact  that  the  story  of  our  lives 
will  soon  Le  finished.  Since  1865  how  rapidly  have  our  com- 
rades, who  sat  with  us  around  those  camp-fires,  passed  out 
into  the  shadowy  night.  'Tis  a  sad  thought,  yet  true.  The 
ranks  are  thinning.  Soon  the  last  survivor  of  those  times 
will  be  gone  out;  darkness  will  fall;  and  that  scene  of  tre- 
mendous activity,  and  terrible  reality  to  us,  be  only  as  a 
silent  memory  of  the  past. 

Now  my  old  comrades,  you  who  may  read  this,  penned  by 
one  of  your  kind,  let  it  remind  you  as  we  linger  on  the  bor- 
der land,  and  as  we  assemble  around  our  last  camp-fire  with 
the  sunset  in  our  faces,  we  may  listen  in  silence  and  hear  the 
ripple  of  the  mystic  river  over  which  we  soon  must  pass,  and, 
as  with  our  noble  leader,  Stonewall  Jackson,  and  with  the 
faith  that  ever  shone  brightly  with  him,  we  may  say  as  he 
did,  "Let  us  pass  over  the  river  and  rest  under  the  shade  of 
the  trees."  Fraternally,  the  old  Reb. 

S,   W,  PAULETT, 
Co.  F,  ISth  Va,  Regiment. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  115 

THE  BATTLE  OF  GETTYSBURG  AND  OTHER 

THRILLING  INCIDENTS  INTERESTINGLY 

NARRATED 

With  your  permission,  and  for  the  benefit  of  your  many 
readers,  I  will  continue  to  give  some  of  my  recollections  of 
the  war. 

June,  1863,  found  us  in  camp  near  Hanover  Junction. 
At  this  time  the  Federal  Army  under  General  Hooker,  re- 
occupied  the  heights  opposite  Fredericksburg,  where  it  could 
not  be  attacked  except  under  very  great  disadvantage,  so 
our  great  and  notable  leader  determined  not  to  await  the 
pleasure  of  "Old  Fighting  Joe,"  but  to  draw  him  out  from 
his  impregnable  position. 

General  Lee  determined,  if  possible,  to  free  Virginia, 
for  a  time  at  least,  from  the  presence  of  the  enemy,  to  trans- 
fer the  theatre  of  war  to  the  northen  soil,  and,  by  selecting 
a  favorable  time  and  place,  to  take  the  reasonable  chances 
of  defeating  his  adversary  in  a  pitched  battle.  To  that  end, 
and  in  pursuance  of  that  design.  General  Lee,  early  in  the 
month  of  June,  moved  his  army  northward  by  way  of  Cul- 
pepper, and  thence  to,  and  down  the  valley  of  Virginia,  to 
Winchester. 

The  army  had  now  been  reorganized,  designated  the  first, 
second,  and  third  corps,  and  commanded  respectively  by 
Lieut.-Gen'ls  Longstreet,  Ewell,  and  A.  P.  Hill.  On  the  12th 
of  June,  the  second  corps  being  in  advance,  crossed  tihe 
branches  of  the  Shenandoah,  near  Front  Royal.  Coming  in 
contact  with  the  enemy  under  General  Milroy,  he  proceeded 
in  his  usual  manner  to  attack,  gave  them  a  good  thrashing, 
captured  a  great  many,  and  the  renmant  sought  safety  be- 
hind the  works  at  Harper's  Ferry.  General  Ewell,  with  three 
divisions,  crossed  the  Potomac  in  the  latter  part  of  June, 
and,  in  pursuance  of  General  Lee's  orders,  traversed  Mary- 
land, and  advanced  into  Pennsylvania.    General  Hill,  whose 


116  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

corps  were  the  last  to  leave  the  line  of  the  Rappahannock, 
followed  with  his  three  divisions  in  Ewell's  rear.  My  division, 
(Pickett's)  was  attached  to  the  first,  or  Longstre^t's,  corps, 
and  it  is  of  this  particular  division  which  I  shall  deal  in  this 
paper. 

Breaking  camp  at  Hanover  Junction,  the  division  was 
formed  and  headed  for  Culpeper  C.  H.,  from  which  point  we 
moved  by  way  of  xVshby's  and  Snicker's  Gaps  into  the  Valley. 
By  this  move  we  covered  the  movements  of  the  second  and 
third  corps  which  had  preceded  us.  Here  we  left  General 
Stuart  the  task  of  holding  the  Gaps  of  the  Blue  Ridge  moun- 
tains with  his  corps  of  cavalry,  and  we  passed  down  the  Val- 
ley and  into  Williamsport,  when  we  crossed  the  Potomac 
into  Maryland.    Here  an  incident,  which  I  recall,  occurred. 

Just  after  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  a  sub^itute  be- 
longing to  Co.  E,  18th  Regiment,  deserted.  He  was  cap- 
tured, brought  back,  court-marshalled,  and  ordered  to  be 
shot.  This  man's  name  was  Rhiley.  For  some  cause  the 
sentence  of  the  court  had  not  been  executed  up  to  this  time, 
but  we  knew  Rhiley  would  be  shot  before  sunset  on  this  day. 
After  crossing  the  river,  the  head  of  the  division  was  turned 
to  the  right  into  an  open  field  where  it  was  formed  into 
three  sides  of  a  square,  and  the  orders  given,  parade,  rest, 
and  we  waited  the  coming  of  the  doomed  man.  Soon  the 
band  struck  up  the  dead  march,  and  from  the  right  was 
seen  approaching,  1st,  the  band ;  2nd,  the  coffin  borne  by  four 
men;  3rd,  Rhiley:  4th,  and  last,  the  detail  of  twelve  men 
who  constituted  the  firing  party.  This  p»*ocession,  and  in 
this  order,  marched  around  the  three  sides  of  the  square 
until  they  reached  the  fourth,  or  open  side;  here  they  halted. 
Now  was  seen  the  stake  to  which  the  prisoner  would  be  tied. 
The  officer  in  command  advanced  and  taking  Rhiley  by  the 
hand,  he  conducted  him  to  the  stake,  ordered  him  to  kneel 
so  that  his  back  rested  against  the  stake,  he  was  then  tied 
and  blind-folded.    The  firing  party  now  advanced  to  within 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  117 

ten  paces  and  made  ready  to  do  their  duty.  Guns  were  load- 
ed and  capped,  the  officer  gave  the  command,  "ready" . 

At  this  Rhiley  raised  his  head  and  said,  "Good-bye  boys,  aim 
at  my  heart."  At  the  comimand  "fire"  the  guns  spoke  out  in 
no  uncertain  sound  and  Rhiley  had  passed  in  his  checks. 
The  grave  had  already  been  prepared,  his  body  was  placed 
therein  and  we  camped  for  the  night. 

The  next  day  we  passed  through  Hagerstown  and  headed 
for  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  which  place  we  reached  on 
or  about  the  27th  of  June.  Here  we  remained  until  the  morn- 
ing of  the  2nd  day  of  July.  The  battle  of  Gettysburg  be- 
gan on  the  1st,  but  we  knew  nothing  of  this,  as  General  Hill, 
with  the  3rd  corps,  held  our  advance  in  that  direction,  and 
was  concentrating  his  corps  at  Cashtown,  with  Heath's  di- 
vision thrown  forward  toward  Gettysburg.  Just  about 
break  of  day  on  the  morning  of  the  2nd,  the  long  roll 
sounded  in  our  camps,  ranks  were  formed,  rolls  called,  and 
we  moved  through  Chambersburg  and  on  to  Gettysburg.  It 
was  a  hard  march,  as  we  were  moving  rapidly  forward  to 
aid  the  2nd  and  3rd  corps  then  engaged  with  our  old  enemy, 
the  army  of  the  Potomac,  commanded  by  General  George 
C.  Meade;  fighting  Joe  Hooker  having  been  relieved  and  laid 
on  the  shelf.  Owing  to  a  wagon  train  belonging  to  the  3rd 
corps  cutting  in  ahead  of  us  and  the  pike  being  filled  with 
beef  cattle  which  had  been  captured  and  sent  to  the  rear,  our 
^march  was  retarded.  Thus  delayed,  we  did  not  reach  the  field 
as  quickly  as  we  otherwise  would  have  done.  We  camped 
near  Gettysburg  and  cooked  rations,  but  began  the  march 
again  long  before  day  on  the  morning  of  the  3rd.  I  would 
say  between  6  and  8  o'clock  we  arrived  at,  and  took  up  our 
position,  along.  Seminary  Ridge.  The  division  was  placed 
in  line  of  battle  as  follows:  Kemper's  brigade  on  the  right; 
Garnett's  (my  brigade)  on  the  left;  Armistead's  brigade  just 
in  rear  of  the  two  first,  and  in  supporting  distance.  Our 
4th  brigade;  Corse's;  was  left  in  Virginia. 


118  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

After  the  boys  had  been  lined  up  they  were  ordered  to 
lie  down.  At  this  time,  everything  was  so  quiet  none  but 
those  who  would  participate  in  this  death  grapple  would 
have  thought  there  was  a  hundred  men  within  a  mile.  Yet 
along  those  lines  there  were,  of  the  Yankee  army,  one  hun- 
dred and  five  thousand  men,  and  of  General  Lee's  army, 
sixty-two  thousand.  Just  think  of  it,  the  audacity  of  62,- 
000  men  making  that  glorious  and  daring  attack  on  105,000, 
and  on  ground  of  their  own  selection!  Yet  the  charge  was 
made  and  failed.  General  Meade  was  afraid  to  follow  up  his 
success.  Notwithstanding  our  failure  on  the  3rd,  General 
Lee  held  the  field  all  day  on  the  4th  in  absolute  quiet,  and 
withdrew  from  their  front  without  serious  molestation.  Gen- 
eral Sickles  testified  before  the  cojmmittee  on  the  conduct  of 
the  war,  that  the  reason  the  Confederates  were  not  followed 
up  was  on  account  of  differences  of  opinion  whether  or  not 
the  Federals  would  retreat,  as  it  was  by  no  means  clear  in  the 
judgment  of  the  corps-commanders,  or  of  the  General  in  com- 
mand, whether  they  had  won  or  not.  If  we  had  had  75,000 
men  there  would  have  been  no  doubt  in  General  Meade's 
mind  as  to  who  had  won. 

But  to  resume  my  story,  being  always  of  an  inquistive 
turn  of  mind,  and  wishing  to  know  all  that  was  going  on 
in  sight,  I  took  occasion  during  this  lull,  to  view  the  ground 
and  surroundings.  I  tell  you  the  sight  was  not  an  encour- 
aging one !  In  our  immediate  front,  say  distant  three-fourths 
of  a  mile,  was  that  strong  position,  known  in  history  as 
Cemetery  Heights.  This  position,  though  strong  by  nature, 
had  been  made  doubly  so  by  the  erection  of  breast- works, 
behind  which  men  of  all  arms,  and  in  great  numbers,  were 
stationed  to  slap  the  life  out  of  us  gentle  Rebs  as  we  crossed 
that  open  field,  without  shelter  to  hide  the  size  of  a  man's 
head.  Now,  look  to  our  right,  and  therfe  standp  Little 
Bound  Top  Mountain;  a  giant  indeed,  crowned  with  ar- 
tillery and  infantry,  ready  as  we  advanced,  to  pour  death 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  119 

and  destruction  into  our  ranks.  After  taking  a  general  sur- 
vey, and  noting  the  difficult  and  dangerous  path  we  must 
travel  in  order  to  reach  those  Yanks,  my  heart  almost  failed 
me,  and  my  hair  and  hat  began  to  rise  as  I  thought,  "Can 
we  win?"  Then  turning  to  the  company,  I  said:  "This  is 
going  to  be  a  heller,  prepare  for  the  worst."  Oh,  no;  this 
remark  created  no  laugh !  The  boys  had  looked  and  seen  for 
themselves !  They  knew  that  many  of  us  had  answered  our 
last  roll-call,  and  no  doubt  asked  themselves,  "Is  it  me?" 
or  "Is  it  I,"  but  none  can  t«ll.  Soon  the  signal  gun  is  fired, 
and  never  before  or  since,  has  such  artillery  thunder  been 
heard.  This  continued  for  about  two  hours,  then  came  down 
the  line  the  simple  word,  "Attention";  the  boys  sprang  to 
their  feet,  reeling  from  the  effects  of  the  hot  July  sun,  but 
soon  they  became  steady,  and  the  line  was  ready  to  face  and 
charge  the  jnighty  host  of  men  and  guns  on  Cemetery 
Heights.  At  this  time  Gen.  Pickett  rode  in  front  of  our  bri- 
gade, (he  having  been  our  former  commander)  and  raising 
hmiself  in  his  stirrups,  he  pointed  to  the  Heights,  and  said: 
"Boys,  you  see  that  battery ;  I  want  you  to  take  those  guns. 
Remember  you  are  Virginians."  Forward!  The  line  moved 
out  at  quick  step.  Passing  through  our  line  of  artillery,  we 
made  for  the  Heights.  Our  line  being  in  full  view  from 
the  start,  the  Yanks  opened  on  us  with  round  shot,  then 
shell.  Nearing  the  Emmittsburg  road  Little  Round  Top  on 
our  right,  having  enfilade  fire,  opened  with  shell,  which 
tore  great  gaps  in  our  line;  sometimes  as  much  as  30  feet 
of  men  would  go  down  from  the  effect  of  one  shell !  Did  the 
boys  falter  ?  No ;  the  order  would  come :  "Close  to  the  right, 
boys,"  and,  continuing  the  advance,  the  gap  would  be  closed ! 
A  few  yards  farther  on,  and  the  batteries  in  front  opened 
with  grape  and  cannister,  mowing  the  boys  down  by  the 
hundred.  Does  this  stop  the  living?  No;  the  advance  con- 
tinues, but  the  worst  is  yet  to  come.  Their  infantry  had 
reserved  their  fire  until  we  were  within  30  yards  of  their 


120  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

works,  then  with  round  shot  and  shell,  grape  and  cannister, 
pistol  and  musket;  it  seemed  that  heaven  and  earth  had 
come  together  with  a  mighty  crash;  the  earth  trembled;  m^n 
fell  to  rise  no  more;  and  in  a  few  moments  the  pride  of 
Virginia  manhood  had  burned  their  last  powder! 

Official  report  puts  our  loss  at  3,333  men !  The  Farm- 
\ill  Guard  had  the  following  killed  and  wounded:  Killed — 
Bryant;  El  am;  Davis;  Hooton;  Hunt;  Setzer;  and  Wor- 
sham.  Wounded — Captain  Z.  A.  Blanton;  East;  Gilliam; 
Paulett,  J.  T.;  Paulett.S.  W.;  Wicker;  and  Walthall.  Here 
T  was  captured  with  others  of  my  company,  and  carried  to 
the  rear  of  the  Yankee  army,  so,  for  the  present,  my  con- 
nection with  the  army  of  northern  Virginia  had  ceased. 

A  few  days  ago  Bob  Miller  met  me  on  the  street  and 
asked  if  I  remembered  what  passed  between  us  on  the  field 
just  after  being  captured.  I  told  him  no.  He  said  he  came 
up  to  me  while  we  were  under  fire  of  our  own  guns,  then 
sTielling  the  Heights,  and  asked  me  what  had  become  of  the 
boys,  and  I  replied:  "Hootsy,  damned  if  I  know."  This 
to  shown  how  utterly  unconscious  of  fear  boys  became  in 
war.  Here  I  will  close  this,  and  if  you  so  desire  at  some 
future  time,  I  will  narrate  some  of  my  prison  experiences. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  121 


LIFE  IN  THE  YANKEE  PRISONS— THE  HARDSHIPS 
INTERESTINGLY  RECALLED 

Farmville,  Va.,  May  25,  '97. 

In  compliance  with  my  promise  in  my  last  communica- 
tion, I  will  now  take  up  the  thread  of  my  story,  and  relate 
some  of  my  experiences  while  a  prisoner  of  war. 

In  my  last  I  stated  that  I  was  captured  in  Pickett's 
charge  at  Gettysburg,  and  that  for  the  nonce  my  connec- 
tion with  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia  had  ceased  in  the 
field. 

On  the  night  of  July  3rd,  after  the  battle,  I,  with  many 
others  who  had  been  captured,  was  taken  to  the  rear  of  the 
Federal  army  and  put  in  camp,  now  strongly  guarded  by 
both  infantr;^  and  cavalry.  General  Kilpatrick,  a  Yankee 
cavalry  officer,  rode  in  our  midst  and  proclaimed  in  a  very 
excited  manner,  that  we  must  keep  quiet,  and  that  any  at- 
tempt to  escape  would  be  met  with  death  on  the  spot.  Uur 
der  the  circumstances,  this  was  hardly  necessary,  inasmuch 
as  were  tired  and  worn  out  by  hard  fighting  and  marching. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th,  we  were  formed  in  line  and 
ordered  to  march,  guarded  by  their  cavalry.  Some  hours' 
march  brought  us  to  a  small  town  some  distance  in  the  rear 
of  the  Yankee  army.  Here  we  found  General  Stuart  had 
been  the  day  before  with  some  of  his  cavalry.  Owing  to 
this  fact,  the  cavalry  guarding  us  became  very  uneasy,  for 
fear  that  General  Stuart  would  make  a  sudden  dash  and  re- 
capture us.  The  Old  Rebs  were  highly  elated  at  the  prospect 
and  prayed  as  they  marched  that  Stuart  would  come,  but  our 
hopes  were  vain ;  it  was  not  to  be. 


122  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

The  next  point  reached,  as  I  remember,  was  Westmin- 
ister, Maryland,  at  which  place  we  arrived  during  the  after- 
noon of  the  4th.  Here,  for  the  first  time,  we  were  given 
something  to  eat.  We  were  marched  into  an  open  field  sur- 
rounded by  a  high  fence,  outside  of  which  the  guards  were 
stationed.  I  made  a  raid  and  succeeded  in  stealing  a  large 
ham,  which  we  enjoyed  very  much.  The  rain  was  now 
coming  down  in  torrents;  no  shelter;  no  blankets;  no  oil 
clothes;  we  were  indeed  in  a  pitiable  condition  as  we  stood 
in  this  weather,  looking  as  best  we  could  while  the  rations 
were  issued.  A  worse  looking  set  of  men  I  never  in  all  my  life 
beheld.  Tired  and  worn;  ragged  and  dirty;  wet  and  hungry; 
surrounded  by  our  enemies,  and  gazed  at  by  the  curious 
town  people  who  had  left  their  comfortable  homes  in  order  to 
see  what  we  Rebs  looked  like,  was  a  sad  sight  and  engen- 
dered feelings  long  to  be  remembered.  Here  we  remained 
during  the  night  of  the  4th,  sleeping  in  the  mud  and  mire 
like  so  many  hogs. 

On  the  morning  of  the  5th  we  were  put  in  the  cars  and 
started  for  Baltimore.  Reaching  that  point  just  about  dark, 
we  were  taken  off  and  marched  through  the  streets  of  the 
city  to  Fort  McHenry,  when  we  were  placed  iii  the  open 
ground  around  the  fort  without  food  or  shelter.  1  thought 
it  had  rained  at  Westminister,  but  it  was  only  a  drop  out  of 
the  bucket.  Here  the  clouds  seemed  to  reverse  themselves, 
turning  bottom-side  up,  spilling  all  the  water  from  on  high. 
In  this  condition,  and  in  this  weather,  we  remained  during 
the  night.  No  rations  ever  issued,  and  the  poor  old  Rebs 
slept  as  best  they  could,  being  hungry  and  cold,  with  no 
shelter  or  bedding  of  any  kind. 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th,  rations  of  coffee,  hard  tack, 
and  meat  were  issued.  This  made  us  more  comfortable  and 
we  began  to  feel  like  men  once  more.  My  recollection  is  that 
we  remained  at  Fort  McHenry  during  the  day  and  night  of 
the  6th.    Here  I  will  insert  the  names  of  my  company  who 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  12B 

were  with  me  at  that  time:  R.  D.  Miller;  S.  B.  Partin;  J. 
J.  Riggins;  J.  W.  Foster.  Richard  Thackston  joined  us 
later. 

On  the  morning  of  the  7th  we  were  placed  on  board  a 
steamer  and  taken  to  Fort  Delaware,  then  under  command 
of  General  Scheopf.  Landed  at  the  fort,  another  new  ex- 
perience had  to  be  encountered.  We  were  formed  in  double 
rank,  open  order,  and  ordered  to  remove  our  shoes  from 
our  feet!  I  thought,  can  this  be  holy  ground?  But  I  was 
soon  to  jSnd  out.  Soon  a  detail  of  Yankees  came  down  the 
line  searching  each  Reb  as  they  passed,  confiscating  all  money, 
or  other  contrabrand  of  war,  found  in  their  possession.  I 
did  not  have  one  cent  and  doubt  if  the  clothes  on  my  back 
would  have  sold  for  that  sum.  Here  a  roll  of  the  prisoners 
was  made  up;  names  were  listed  and  to  what  command  we 
belonged,  and  from  what  State  we  came.  We  were  then  put 
in  barracks  and  our  prison  life  began  in  reality. 

Miller,  Partin,  Riggins,  Foster,  and  myself,  were  placed 
in  the  old  barracks.  To  those  barracks  were  attached  a  mess, 
or  eating  hall,  where  we  obtained  our  GRUB.  As  the  north- 
ern people  have  seen  fit  to  cry  down  the  way  we  fed  the 
Yankee  prisoners  on  this  side,  and  to  praise  the  manner  in 
which  we,  the  rebel  prisoners,  were  looked  after  along  this 
line  on  their  side,  I  will  here  insert  our  daily  bill  of  fare,  for 
the  benefit  of  the  hungry:  Our  breakfast  consisted  of  one 
cup  of  warm  water  called  coffee,  and  made  from  the  grounds 
used  in  the  Yankee  hospital,  redried,  barreled  and  sent  to  us; 
one  and  a  half  hard-tack  or  cracker,  sometimes  alive  with  lit- 
tle living  worms ;  one- fourth  of  a  pound  of  beef  or  pork.  Now 
for  dinner !  Remember  we  got  only  two  meals  a  day !  Same 
quantity  hard-tack  as  for  breakfast;  and  about  one  pint  of 
what  they  called  soup,  made  sometimes  from  potatoes,  then 
cabbage,  and  again  from  carrots.  A  few  of  these  were  thrown 
into  a  large  kettle  of  water  in  which  beef  or  pork  had  been 
boiled,  and  was  then  served  to  us  as  first-class  soup,  fit  for 


124  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

"the  gods,"  but  I  have  seen  my  hogs  have  better.  I  was  in 
their  hands  for  about  six  months,  and  to  my  recollection, 
this  bill  of  fare  never  changed!  Yet,  I  thank  them  for  so 
much ;  it  kept  life  in  me  and  gave  me  strength  to  return  to 
pixie  and  feed  back  to  them  lead  through  my  musket  barrel ! 

To  resume.  There  occurred  many  incidents  at  Fort 
Delaware  prison  which  I  recall;  too  many  in  fact,  and  for 
fear  of  tiring  your  readers,  I  will  only  stat«  a  few. 

liations  being  light,  the  first  thing  to  look  after  was 
how  to  procure  more.  So  I  began  to  spy  around  in  our  mess 
hall.  This  hall  contained  eleven  tables,  at  each  of  which 
one  hundred  men  could  stand.  The  mode  of  feeding  was  as 
follows:  When  breakfast  or  dinner  was  ready,  a  Yankee 
Sergeant  would  come  out  in  front  of  the  hall  and  announce 
the  fact  by  crying  out,  "Fall  in  for  Breakfast,"  or  "Dinner," 
as  the  case  might  be.  The  Rebs  would  form  in  double  rank, 
march  to  the  door  through  which  they  passed  in  single  file. 
This  door  was  in  the  end  of  the  building,  and  facing  table  No. 
1.  As  the  Rebs  marched  in,  the  first  man  halted  at  the  first 
tin  plate,  while  the  other  passed  to  his  rear,  the  second  man 
halted  at  plate  No  2,  and  so  on  until  the  eleven  tables  were 
filled.  Noting  this  mode  of  procedure,  Miller,  Partin,  and 
myself,  always  made  it  a  point  to  fall  in  line  on  the  out- 
side so  as  to  reach  the  middle  of  table  No.  1.  After  getting 
to  our  plates  we  would  exchange  our  coffee  for  a  cracker, 
with  some  Reb,  or  else  leave  it.  This  was  done  by  crying 
out.  "Here  is  your  cup  of  coffee  for  a  cracker."  The  ex- 
change made,  we  looked  out  for  the  Yankee  Sergeant,  and 
when  his  head  was  turned,  we  would  again  enter  the  line 
as  it  was  passing  in  our  rear,  and  fetch  up  at  the  next  table. 
Here  the  coffee  was  disposed  of  as  before  and  we  would  again 
enter  the  line.  We  sometimes  succeeded  in  getting  to  all  the 
tables,  thus  getting  the  crackers  intended  for  33  men.  Of 
course  these  men  had  to  be  fed !  The  Yanks  knew  that  some 
Reb  was  stealing,  but  catching  is  before  hanging,  everything 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  125 

'cept  a  fish.    We  had  been  here  but  a  short  while  before  we 
had  hard-tack  enough  to  stave  off  hunger. 

Walking  out  on  the  levee  one  day  I  found  my  chum, 
Bob,  in  a  bad  fix.  A  Yankee  guard  had  him  on  the  double 
quick  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  trotting  up  and  down  the 
levee.  I  called  out:  "Hello,  Hootsy  B,  what's  up  now?" 
He  shook  his  head,  said  not  a  word,  but  as  in  the  old  song, 
he  had  to  push  along,  keep  moving.  After  about  two  hours 
of  this  work,  the  Yank  turned  him  loose,  and  he  told  me 
the  Yanks  had  caught  him  at  one  of  our  tricks  and  took  him 
in  charge.  Well,  I  promised  not  to  tell  on  him  when  we  got 
home,  so  you  must  guess  the  trick. 

One  interesting  place  on  the  island  was  known  as  "Devil's 
Green."  Here  all  manner  of  gambling  was  carried  on. 
Some  betting  money,  some  crackers,  and  others  tobacco.  To 
illustrate,  we  will  visit  the  Keno  table.  Here  we  found  fif- 
teen or  twenty  men  sitting  around  the  dealer,  each  having 
in  front  of  him  a  card  on  which  are  three  lines  of  figures,  four 
figures  on  each  line.  Before  the  game  begins  each  man  puts  up 
his  chew  of  tobacco,  the  dealer  draws  a  figure  and  crys  out, 
the  person  having  that  figure  would  cover  it  with  chip  or  but- 
ton. The  call  continues,  and  figures  covered,  until  one  of  the 
players  has  the  four  figures  on  the  same  line  covered,  when 
he  tells  the  news  by  crying  out  "keno  on  top,"  "middle,"  or 
"bottom"  line,  as  the  case  may  be.  He  has  won  all  the  "chaws" 
in  the  pool,  each  puts  up  again,  and  the  game  continues  as 
before.  From  early  morn  until  late  at  night,  the  "Devil's 
Green"  was  full  of  men  betting  at  some  one  of  the  games  there 
displayed. 

Bob  Miller  and  I  had  no  money,  so  we  were  always  pie- 
rooting  around  to  see  what  we  could  pick  up,  owned  by  some 
other  fellow.  On  one  of  these  outings  we  each  succeeded  in 
hooking  a  hook  and  line.  Call  it  stealing  if  you  will,  but  re- 
member soldiers  don't  steal,  they  only  pick  up  what  they 
need  when  it  can  be  found  and  the  other  fellow  ain't  looking. 


126  History  of  Prince  Edward  Cownty 


Having  hard-tack  in  abundance,  we  proceeded  to  fish  for 
meat.  At  one  point  in  the  bay  all  the  slops  from  the  mess 
hall  were  emptied.  To  this  spot  we  went,  and  very  soon 
had  as  many  cat  fish  as  we  wanted.  Ask  any  old  Fort  Dela- 
ware prisoner  to  tell  you  about  the  cat  caught  on  Delaware 
I5ay;  his  answer  will  interest  you. 

At  this  time  we  were  not  permitted  to  write  to  any  north- 
ern friend  for  money.  Going  out  to  the  water  tank  one 
night,  I  found  a  nice  Yank  on  guard.  I  struck  up  a  con- 
versation with  him,  and  unfolded  ^my  poor  and  penniless  con- 
dition. After  talking  some  time  he  agreed  that  I  might 
write  to  some  of  father's  friends  in  Baltimore  asking  for  a 
little  money,  and  he  would  forward  it.  You  bet  I  wrote  that 
letter  without  delay !  Some  days  after  this,  a  Yankee  came  in 
our  barracks  and  hunted  me  up.  He  escorted  me  to  Lieu- 
tenant Wolf,  who  was  the  meanest  Yankee  I  ever  saw.  He 
questioned  me  very  closely,  trying  to  find  out  how  I  got  my 
letter  out,  but  he  failed.  Then  he  wished  to  know  who  I 
knew  in  Baltimore.  I  gave  him  the  names  of  several  parties, 
and  among  them,  that  of  Messrs.  Straus,  Hartman,  Hoflin 
&  Co.  Those  were  the  gentlement  who  sent  me  the  money. 
Finally,  Lieut.  Wolf  said:  "Well  I  guess  you  are  the  man, 
or  rather  boy."  I  said:  "Lieutenant,  you  can  call  me  what 
you  choose  here,  but  I  want  you  to  know  ,1  can  stand  in  a 
man's  shoes  when  in  Dixie."  He  then  sent  me  under  guard 
to  the  fort  in  which  was  Gen.  Scheopf 's  office.  The  General  was 
not  in  when  I  arrived,  so  I  employed  my  time  in  looking  al 
the  pictures,  of  which  there  were  many,  hanging  on  the  walls. 
His  private  secretary  was  writing  at  his  desk  and  said  to 
me:  "Johnnie,  you  had  better  take  off  your  hat."  I  in- 
formed him  that  "Johnnies"  when  at  home  did  not  take  of! 
their  hats  when  in  the  General's  office.  He  smiled,  said  no 
/nore,  and  continued  his  writing.  I  had  almost  forgotten 
where  I  was,  so  busy  was  I  in  looking  at  the  pictures. 
Pretty  soon  I  heard  the  door  open,  and  some  one  in  a  loud,  hard 


nUtory  of  Prince  Edward  County  127 

voice  said:  "Take  off  your  hat,  sir."  I  turned  and  recog- 
nized the  General.  No  talking  back  now ;  my  hat  came  off  in 
double  quick  time,  and  under  my  arm  it  went.  I  knew  the 
time  had  come,  and  hats  off  was  in  order.  The  General  asked 
me  many  questions  along  the  line  in  which  Wolf  had  gone 
over,  but  he  got  no  more  information  than  Wolf  did.  He 
then  ordered  his  secretary  to  give  me  an  order  on  the  Sutler 
for  fifteen  dollars.  I  was  sent  under  guard  to  the  Sutler's 
place  of  business.  This  man  refused  to  give  me  money,  but 
gave  me  the  amount  in  5,  10  and  25  cent  Sutler  tickets.  On 
,my  return  to  barracks  I  placed  myself  near  the  Sutler's  win- 
dow and  soon  had  my  checks  or  tickets  converted  into  Uncle 
Sam's  green-backs.  Chum  and  I  were  now  in  the  swim.  We 
bought  of  the  Sutler  baker's  bread  and  golden  syrups.  Could 
you  have  seen  us  licking  in  that  soft  bread,  and  those  *lasses, 
after  eating  hard-tack,  pork  and  carrots  for  so  long,  it  would 
have  done  your  heai-t  good. 

Anjong  the  Yankees  here,  there  was  one  to  whom  the 
Kebs  had  given  the  name  of  "Hack  Out."  His  duty  was  to 
look  after  and  keep  things  straight  in  barracks.  He  obtained 
his  name  in  the  following  manner :  While  making  his  rounds 
some  old  Eeb  would  get  in  his  way,  when  he  would  squall 
out:  "Hack  out  of  this."  Some  of  us  remember  the  many 
little  acts  of  kindness  done  for  us  by  this  old  man  while  we 
were  prisoners  at  Fort  Delaware.  Come  down,  Hack  Out,  to 
see  us;  we  will  be  delighted  to  repay  you  an  hundred  fold. 
Old  Hack  was  a  particular  friend  of  mine,  telling  me  often 
that  I  ought  to  be  at  home  tied  to  my  mother's  apron  strings. 
I  don't  suppose  at  that  time  I  weighed  ninety  pounds. 

About  this  time  they  began  to  erect  hospitals  on  the  is- 
land. The  lumber  for  this  purpose  had  to  be  carried  on  men's 
shoulders  from  the  wharf  across  the  island  for  half  a  mile. 
The  Rebs  were  detailed  to  do  this  work,  for  which  they  re- 
ceived three  meals  per  day  of  soft  bread,  meat,  coffee,  and 
soup;  in  addition  each  man  received  a  small  piece  of  tobacco. 


128  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Old  "Hack  Out"  made  me  a  Sergeant,  and  gave  me  thirty 
men.  My  duty  was  very  light;  I  remained  at  the  wharf  to 
see  that  each  man  carried  his  allotted  number  of  turns  be- 
fore each  meal.  At  this  wharf  the  steamer  Oseola  landed 
every  day,  bringing  the  mail  and  passengers  for  the  fort. 
Being  here  every  day,  and  seeing  the  people  aboard  this 
steamer,  it  struck  me  that  some  money  might  be  made.  On 
my  return  to  barracks  I  went  among  the  Rebs  who  were 
making  fans,  rings,  tooth  picks,  and  many  other  articles.  I 
succeeded  in  buying  a  nice  lot  for  a  very  small  sum.  Next 
morning  on  the  arrival  of  the  steamer,  I  called  attention  to 
the  wares  made  by  the  Johnnies,  and  to  my  surprise  and  de- 
light, found  no  difficulty  in  selling  out  at  a  big  profit.  Some 
of  the  ladies  did  not  even  ask  the  price.  All  they  wanted  was 
some  article  made  by  a  rebel  prisoner.  I  sold  one  lady  a  loco- 
motive for  the  sum  of  twenty-five  dollars.  I  carried  on  this 
business  so  long  as  I  remained  at  the  fort.  Chum  and  I 
lived  on  the  fat  of  the  land. 

One  very  great  drawback  here  was  the  vermin.  Never 
before  in  the  history  of  man,  was  there  so  many  lice  on  the 
same  number  of  men!  They  were  in  our  clothes,  on  the 
blankets  on  the  bunks,  in  every  crack  and  crevice,  on  the  roof, 
on  the  ground;  in  a  word,  they  were  everywhere!  One  of 
our  boys  seemed  to  be  sweet  meat  for  them.  I'll  not  call  his 
name,  for  he  is  now  living.  He  had  them  to  perfection.  When 
"taps"  was  sounded  at  night  for  lights  out,  he  could  be  seen 
taking  off  his  shirt  and  turning  it  wrong  side  out.  About  twelve 
o'clock  he  would  get  up  and  go  through  the  same  perform- 
ance. After  a  while  our  curiosity  was  aroused,  and  we  asked 
why  he  did  in  this  manner.  He  replied:  "I  am  flanking 
these  d — n  lice;  while  they  are  going  around,  I  am  sleeping." 
You  now  see  how  smart  he  was;  every  time  he  turned  his 
shirt  he  placed  the  lice  on  the  outside,  and,  in  order  to  get 
at  his  meat  again,  they  had  to  perform  the  flanking  act. 


With   my  last  communication  I   fully  intended  to  dis- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  129 

continue  my  description  of  prison  life  and  enter  again  the 
field  where  the  army  was  doing  actual  work,  but  since  its 
appearance,  many  of  your  readers,  and  among  them  many  of 
our  oldest  citizens,  have  requested  me  to  continue  the  narra- 
tion.   With  your  permission  I  will  now  continue  to  do  so. 

To  describe  to  the  uninitiated  the  lights  and  shadows  of 
prison  life  is  indeed  a  hard  task  and  should  only  be  attempted 
by  one  whose  descriptive  powers  are  far  above  mine.  I  shall 
do  the  best  I  can,  hoping  to  please  some  of  your  readers.  I 
learn  that  some  of  my  lady  friends  object  to  some  of  my  say- 
ings; for  instance  they  think  the  "Kuss  words"  and  "Louse 
story"  might  have  been  left  unsaid.  They  seem  to  forget  that 
I  am  trying  to  give  a  truthful  narration  of  incidents  happen- 
ing in  a  varied  prison  life,  and,  to  record  them  properly  it 
must  be  done  in  order,  and  just  as  they  occurred. 

During  the  month  of  August  the  heat  at  Fort  Delaware 
was  very  oppressive,  in  fact  almost  unbearable.  The  barracks 
had  but  few  windows,  and  these  were  placed  on  line  with  the 
first,  or  lower  row  of  bunks.  We  who  occupied  the  second,  or 
upper  row,  received  but  little  air  fram  these.  Miller  and  I 
determined  to  cut  a  small  window  just  at  the  head  of  our 
bunk.  We  knew  that  the  guard  had  orders  to  shoot  any 
prisoner  caught  doing  this  sort  of  work,  but  this  did  not  deter 
us  The  guard's  beat  was  not  twenty  feet  from  where  we 
would  do  the  cutting;  we  had  decided  to  have  air  from  some 
point.  The  boys  near  us  objected  to  our  cutting  saying,  some 
of  us  would  be  killed.  We  paid  no  attention  to  them  and  be- 
gan the  work.  We  selected  a  plank  about  twelve  inches  wide, 
and  with  our  pocket  knives  proceeded  to  cut  an  opening  about 
ten  by  twelve  inches.  While  one  was  cutting  the  other 
would  watch  the  guard,  whose  beat  was  nearly  under  where 
we  were  at  work.  Finally  we  cut  nearly  through  and  notified 
the  boys  to  get  out,  which  they  did  in  double-quick  time.  This 
left  the  ground  clear  for  the  guard  to  shoot.  We  procured  a 
stout  stick,  and  getting  as  far  from  the  piece  to  be  knocked 


130  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

out  as  possible,  we  gave  it  a  quick,  hard  thrust,  and  ran  for 
our  lives.  It  was  well  we  did,  for  the  piece  had  scarcely 
touched  the  gi'ound  before  the  guard  raised  his  rifle  and  fired 
at  the  hole  in  the  wall.  It  is  needless  to  tell  you  he  did  no  dam- 
age, except  to  the  barracks,  as  all  the  "Johnnies*'  had  left,  and 
gone  where  the  Whang- doodle  mourneth  and  the  conscript  offi- 
cer cometh  not.  We  had  made  all  our  preparations  for  this 
shot,  and  got  out  of  the  way.  Knowing  old  Hack-out  would 
be  around  trying  to  find  out  who  did  the  cutting,  we  did  not 
venture  back  for  several  hours.  We  had  fresh  air,  and  did 
not  serve  our  time  in  a  dungeon  under  the  fort,  as  would  have 
been  the  case  had  we  been  caught. 

Fort  Delaware  is  a  large  fort  situated  on  an  island  in 
Delaware  Bay,  just  opposite  Delaware  City,  and  about  1% 
miles  from  the  Delaware,  and  2i/^  miles  from  the  New  Jersey 
shore*  Of  course  the  water  surrounding  it  is  at  all  times 
very  brackish  and  not  at  all  drinkable.  I  remember  that  at 
one  time  we  were  forced  to  drink  that  or  nothing.  Drinking 
water  used  for  prisoners,  was  hauled  by  a  water  boat  from 
the  Brandywine  river  to  the  Island  and  then  pumped  into 
large  wooden  tanks  by  forcing  it  with  a  small  engine  such 
as  we  use  here  for  fire  purposes.  The  tanks  were  very  large 
and  placed  outside  the  barracfe.  Sometimes  before  the  water 
could  be  consumed  it  became  very  hot,  as  there  was  no  protec- 
tion from  the  sun.  During  this  time,  green  slime,  such  as 
we  see  on  our  frog  ponds,  or  stagnant  pools  of  water,  would 
often  form  two  inches  thick  on  the  water  in  these  tanks.  Five 
or  six  faucets  were  placed  at  intervals  around  the  bottom  of 
these  tanks  from  which  we  drew  our  drinking  water.  At  one 
tin:e  some  accident  happened  to  the  wat^r  boat,  and  before  it 
could  be  remedied,  we  consumed  all  our  drinking  water,  and 
General  Scheopf,  in  the  kindness  of  his  heart,  permitted  us 
to  use  water  from  the  reservoir  under  the  fort.  We  drank 
this  so  low  there  would  soon  be  none  left  for  the  garrison,  and 
the  General  called  a  halt.    Our  only  resort  for  water  now  was 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  131 

that  in  the  Bay,  which  we  procured  in  the  following  manner : 
We  would  take  several  canteens,  and  swim  some  distance  out 
in  the  Bay,  uncork  the  canteens,  dive  down  as  near  the  bot- 
tom as  we  could  and  permit  them  to  fill.  Thus  we  obtained 
water  a  little  cooler  than  that  at  the  surface,  but  just  as  salt. 
This  we  drank  for  several  days,  and,  from  its  effects  there  was 
scarcely  a  well  man  among  the  seven  thousand  prisoners  on 
the  Island !  This  was  enough  to  kill  us,  but  there  was  an- 
other enemy  entering  the  fold.  We  had  withstood  the  storms 
of  battle,  the  long  march,  and  the  hardships  of  prison  life, 
now  we  were  to  undergo  another  trial.  Small-pox  put  in  its 
appearance,  and  the  poor  boys  had  to  succumb  to  that  dread 
disease,  and  many  there  were  who  found  their  last  resting 
place  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  far  from  home  and  kindred. 
The  place  selected  to  bury  these  poor  fellows  was  in  New 
Jersey,  just  opposite  the  fort.  Many  times  have  I  been  to 
the  wharf  where  the  dead  were  placed  to  be  taken  over,  and 
found  from  eight  to  twenty-three  dead  men,  all  of  whom  had 
died  during  the  preceding  twenty-four  hours !  This  was  not 
the  case  only  one  or  two  days,  but  for  many  days.  No  doubt 
a  scene  such  as  this  would  touch  the  hearts  of  many  of  my 
youthful  readers,  but  on  us,  whose  hearts  were  hardened,  it 
made  no  impression.  Dead  men  were  no  rarity  to  us,  scarce- 
ly a  day  passed  that  we  did  not  see  one,  often  one  hundred, 
and  sometimes  thousands!  What  man  could  behold  these 
sights  and  not  become  callous  where  even  the  dead  were  con- 
cerned? So  dead  to  fear  had  we  become,  I  believe  if  dead 
bodies  had  been  piled  as  so  many  railroad  sills  to  the  height 
of  six  feet,  an  old  Reb  would  not  hesitate,  in  order  to  get 
off  the  damp  ground,  to  spread  his  blanket  and  oil-cloth  on 
the  pile  and  sleep  as  quietly  and  as  peacefully  as  any  of  my 
readers  do  now  in  their  feather  beds! 

The  barracks  at  the  Fort  were  built  in  a  hollow  square 
with  a  sally-port  on  two  sides;  leading  to  these  was  a  plank 
walk-way  three  feet  wide.    These  were  used  by  the  prisoners 


132  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

to  keep  out  of  the  mud,  which  consisted  of  a  black,  slimy, 
salty  substance,  in  which  it  would  not  do  to  walk  barefooted. 
Eemember,  not  one  in  a  hundred  of  these  seven  thousand  had 
shoes  on  their  feet,  and  any  who  ventured  in  this  mud  with- 
out shoes  lived  to  regret  it.  Their  feet  would  turn  blood-red, 
and  after  a  few  days,  burst  wide  open,  exposing  the  bone  and 
sinew;  intense  suffering  followed  and  many  died  from  this 
cause  alone. 

While  on  the  wharf  one  day,  I  purchased  a  water-melon 
and  carried  it  in  for  Bob  and  I  to  enjoy.  We  took  it  out  on 
the  canal,  a  dirty  pool  of  water,  and  then  cut  and  ate  it.  We 
had  nearly  finished  when  a  "tar  heel''  prisoner  came  along, 
and,  eyeing  the  rind,  he  opened  up  as  follows :  "Say,  mister, 
can't  you  give  me  that  ar  rind  for  a  sick  man?"  We  told  him 
no,  we  did  not  wish  to  kill  the  sick  man.  For  fear  that  he 
would  eat  it  if  left  on  the  bank,  we  put  our  muddy  feet  all 
over  it,  and  threw  it  in  the  canal.  We  went  off  a  little  way 
and  watched  him  Soon  he  procured  a  stick,  fished  out  the 
rind  and  ate  the  last  bit  of  it. 

Our  stay  at  Fort  Delaware  was  now  fast  drawing  to  its 
close.  For  several  days  the  rumor  had  been  afloat  that  we 
would  soon  be  exchanged  and  sent  back  to  Dixie.  During 
the  month  of  October  the  names  of  seventeen  hundred  prison- 
ers were  taken,  as  we  thought  for  exchange.  Among  this 
number  was  Partin,  Miller,  Foster,  Keggin,  and  myself. 
Early  one  morning  we  were  placed  aboard  the  transport 
steamer,  "Philadelphia,"  weighed  anchor,  and  steamed  out 
of  the  bay.  The  men  were  packed  like  sardines  in  a  box. 
When  we  struck  old  ocean  many  became  deathly  sick.  I 
need  not  tell  you  what  they  did;  if  you  have  ever  been  sea- 
sick you  know.  The  steamer  was  short  of  hands  and,  not 
knowing  what  else  to  do,  I  volunteered,  and  took  a  hand 
at  hauling  the  lines.  This  gave  me  the  privilege  of  the 
upper  deck  among  the  sailors.  I  had  some  green-backs  and 
very  soon  bought  from  one  of  the  sailors  a  quart  of  good  old 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  133 

rye.  You  bet  I  was  now  in  the  swim  in  good  earnest.  I 
went  below  where  Hootsy  and  Partin  were,  and  offered  them 
a  smell  out  of  the  quart.  They  refused,  saying  they  had 
more  in  their  stomachs  than  they  could  contain.  I  thought 
so  too  after  hearing  them  call  "york"  a  few  times.  We  had 
a  very  rough  passage.  The  boys  did  not  seem  to  mind  it 
much  as  we  were  "gwine  back  to  Dixie."  Alas  for  our  hopes, 
the  Yanks  had  fooled  us.  They  were  merely  transferring  us 
from  one  prison  to  another!  One  morning  about  light,  the 
old  transport  came  to  anchor,  and  we  found  ourselves  in 
the  Potomac  river  just  off  Pbint  Lookout,  Maryland.  Here 
we  disembarked,  and,  after  being  searched  from  head  to 
foot,  as  at  Fort  Delaware,  were  placed  in  the  bull  pen  and 
again  took  up  prison  life.  The  place  selected  for  this  prison 
is  on  a  point  of  land  between  the  Potomac  river  and  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  known  as  Point  Lookout,  Maryland.  This  prison 
differed  from  Fort  Delaware  in  many  respects.  There  was 
no  fort  or  barracks.  The  prison  consisted  of  a  number  of 
acres  of  land  between  the  river  and  the  bay.  These  acres 
were  enclosed  by  a  straight  up  and  down  fence  about  sixteen 
feet  high.  Near  the  top  of  this  fence  was  a  parapet  on  which 
the  guards  were  stationed,  say  ever^  twenty  feet  apart.  Near 
the  main  gate  was  a  battery  of  artillery  so  placed  as  to  comb 
the  entire  camp  with  grape  and  cannister  should  it  become 
necessary  to  do  so.  The  prison  was  laid  off  nicely  by  streets, 
along  which  tents  were  erected,  in  which  from  ten  to  twenty 
Rebs  were  placed  for  shelter.  The  boys  were  formed  into 
companies  and  divisions.  Ours  was  company  B,  division 
seven.  Roll  was  called  night  and  morning  to  see  if  any 
tlohnnie  had,  by  hook  or  crook,  made  his  escape.  At  meal 
times  each  man  fell  in  with  his  own  company  and  marched 
to  the  mess  hall  where  he  got  his  cup  of  hot  water  and 
his  hard-tack.  We  found  to  our  sorrow  that  we  could  not 
flank  rations  here  as  at  Fort  Delaware.  The  Yanks  had 
placed  Rebs  in  charge  of  the  cook-houses  and,  for  fear  of  los- 


134  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

ing  so  fat  a  job,  they  watched  us  closely,  thus  many  times 
we  left  the  mess  hall  hungry.  The  drinking  water  here  was 
terrible.  The  wells  were  sunk  in  camp,  and,  being  between 
the  river  and  bay,  both  of  which  at  this  point  are  salty,  we 
obtained  water  not  fit  for  human  beings  to  drink.  It  tasted 
as  if  a  quantity  of  Sulphate  of  Iron  had  been  put  in  each 
gallon.  The  effect  of  this  water  on  our  poor  old  Rebs  can 
be  better  imagined  than  described. 

During  November  and  the  part  of  December  while  I 
was  at  Point  Lookout  the  cold  was  intense.  The  winds  storms 
coming  across  the  bay  loaded  with  fine  snow  and  hail,  found 
us  poorly  provided  against  its  attacks.  The  boys  each  had 
but  a  single  blanket  with  which  to  cover,  and  they  would  lie 
down  in  huddles  like  so  many  hogs  in  a  bed,  draw  the  blanket 
about  them  as  best  they  could,  shiver  and  cuss,  groan  and 
pray,  until  morning,  when  the  sun,  in  a  measure,  would  warm 
them  up  again.  But,  you  ask,  why  didn't  we  keep  our  fires 
going?  Let  me  answer  you  by  telling  you  how  we  obtained 
the  little  fuel  we  had.  One  hundred  men  under  guard,  were 
permitted  to  leave  camp  by  the  main  gate,  and  were  marched 
ahout  a  mile  up  the  point,  where  there  was  a  lot  of  small 
dead  pine.  This  the  boys  would  break  up  and  take  a^fmuch 
as  they  could  carry  on  their  shoulders,  and  march  back  to 
camp.  This  detail  of  one  hundred  men  consisted  of  one  man 
from  each  tent,  and  the  wood  he  brought  back  must  last 
that  tent  for  twenty-four  hours.  The  Yanks  may  have  done 
better  after  I  left  them,  but,  remember,  I  am  giving  you 
my  personal  experience.  I  remember  being  on  this  detail 
one  morning,  and  we  had  all  assembled  at  the  main  gate  on 
the  inside,  thereby  blocking  the  way  out  right  much.  Soon 
a  Yankee  officer,  "Capt.  Sides,"  who  was  on  the  inside,  and 
wishing  to  go  out,  rode  in  among  us.  We  being  so  crowded, 
could  not  open  up  the  way  fast  enough  for  him,  angered 
him.  Without  a  word  he  drew  his  pistol  and  fired  into  the 
crowd.    The  Rebs  scattered  as  best  they  could,  and  ran  for 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  1^ 

their  lives.  However,  before  the  way  could  be  cleared,  he 
succeeded  in  killing  two,  and  wounded  three  of  the  boys. 
Every  shot  counted  and  found  its  mark,  and  yet  the  officer 
who  did  the  shooting  was  never  punished  on  earth  that  I 
knew  of,  but  I  do  hope  the  devil  got  him  at  last  and  put  him  in 
the  North-east  corner  at  the  bottom  of  the  bottomless  pit, 
there  to  remain.     So  mote  it  be. 

Rations  were  very  nearly  as  "scase"  as  wood.  Bob  and 
I  decided  to  pie-root  and  see  what  could  be  done  along  that 
line.  We  hunted  the  camp  over  but  found  nothing  to  lift. 
We  now  turned  our  attention  to  the  bay.  About  one  mile 
from  shore  there  was  an  oyster  bed,  from  which  large  quan- 
tities of  oysters  were  gathered  daily  for  market.  The  water 
over  the  beds  was  quite  deep  and  the  oystermen  gathered 
tliem  by  using  long  handled  tongs.  While  grappling  with 
the  tongs  they  would  loosen  a  great  many,  which  on  account 
of  the  tide  and  restless  motion  of  the  water,  would  float  shore- 
ward. I  determined  to  capture  a  few  of  these  stray  fellows 
and  if  possible  secure  a  mess  for  chum  and  me.  To  think 
with  me  was  to  act.  I  wanted  some  of  those  bivalves  badly. 
Mess  pork  and  boiled  carrots  had  about  put  me  through, 
and  a  change  of  diet  was  about  necessary.  Here  was  the 
chance  and  I  took  advantage  of  it.  Calling  Bob  to  book  we 
proceeded  to  plan  the  battle.  He  was  in,  but  not  for  going 
into  the  water.  Said  he  was  thin  (and  he  is  yet),  and  that 
his  blood  was  poor,  but  that  if  I  would  go  he  would  look  after 
all  that  I  caught  and  threw  out.  Darn  his  hide,  he  was  no 
thinner  than  I,  nor  was  my  blood  any  richer  than  his,  it 
was  the  cold  water  he  was  afraid  of.  But  I  agreed  to  lead 
the  advance  force,  and  proceeded  to  line  up  for  a  battle.  Re- 
member, this  was  the  month  of  December,  with  the  ther- 
mometer out  o'  sight.  It  was  so  cold  that  the  water  for 
ten  feet  from  the  shore  was  nothing  but  a  perfect  loblolly  of 
powdered  ice.  This  pack  was  about  ten  feet  wide  by  about 
four  feet  thick.     Nothing  daunted,  however,  I  stripped  off 


136  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

my  clothes  and  plunged  in  head  foremost.  If  any  man  suc- 
ceeds in  reaching  the  North  Pole,  and  becomes  any  colder 
than  I  for  a  few  minutes  after  striking  that  ice,  he  will,  I 
am  sure,  be  converted  into  a  solid  block  of  northern  ice. 
After  getting  through  the  ice,  and  reaching  open  water,  I 
struck  out  swimming,  and  lay  out  about  twenty  yards  from 
shore.  I  now  stood  erect  and  began  to  tread  water,  my 
whole  body  submerged  up  to  my  neck.  When  an  oyster  would 
float  by  me,  I  would  go  under,  fetch  it  up,  and  throw  it  to 
Bob  on  shore.  Thus  for  an  hour  or  more  I  have  remained  in 
the  water,  sometimes  catching  more  oysters  than  a  half  dozen 
hungry  Rebs  could  eat.  When  I  came  out  I  would  again 
pass  through  this  slush  of  ice.  On  reaching  shore  my  poor 
little  body  would  be  blue  and  shriveled,  my  hands  half  closed 
and  resembling  hawk's  claws.  After  dressing  I  would  get  in 
the  sunshine  until  Hootsey  B.  could  boil  the  oysters,  bring- 
ing me  some  with  hot  soup,  as  he  called  it,  which  was  nothing 
but  hot  water  flavored  with  the  oyster.  We  had  none  of  the 
ingredients  with  which  to  make  a  stew,  so  we  boiled  them. 
Permit  me  to  say  I  have  never  since  eaten  any  I  thought  half 
so  good.  I  made  many  trips  in  the  bay  after  oysters.  Al- 
though Bob  was  very  much  afraid  of  water,  he  was  not  so 
of  the  oysters.  He  would  stick  to  the  camp  kettle  so  long  as 
one  remained  at  the  bottom.  I  never  begrudged  anything 
I  had  to  him,  nor  he  to  me.  We  were  chums  indeed,  always 
dividing  what  we  had,  yet  he  had  the  best  of  me,  poor  fellow, 
his  legs  were  hollow  and  had  to  be  filled  first.  Sometimes  he 
would  look  like  a  grave-yard  deserter,  but  fill  him  up  with 
any  kind  of  provender  and  he  was  ready  to  fight  the  whole 
Yankee  nation,  foreigners  thrown  in. 

About  the  first  of  December  my  clothes  had  become  very 
ragged  and  I  had  no  shirt  on  my  back.  My  little  rounda- 
bout was  so  dilapidated  it  would  scarcely  hang  on  my 
shoulders.  I  was  in  a  freezing  condition.  Many  times  have 
I  walked  about  camp  bareback,  without  shirt  or  coat,  with  a 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  137 

cold  north-west  wind  blowing  at  the  rate  of  fifty  miles  an 
hour,  accompanied  by  snow,  hail,  or  fine  sleet.  This,  falling 
upon  my  naked  back,  caused  a  smart,  tingling  sensation,  but, 
strange  to  say,  I  did  not  mind  it.  I  was  not  very  cold  and 
never  made  an  effort  to  shun  the  weather,  no  matter  how 
cold  or  wet.  I  don't  remember  having  a  bad  cold,  or  being 
sick  in  any  way  while  in  prison. 

I  wrote  again  to  my  good  friends,  Straus,  Hartman, 
Hoflin  &  Co.,  of  Baltimore  requesting  them  to  send  me  some 
clothes.  They  sent  me  a  nice  warm  suit  and  other  belongings, 
among  which  were  two  nice  grey  flannel  shirts.  I  was  very 
proud  of  the  shirts  and  hastened  to  put  one  on.  I  soon  found 
1  could  not  wear  it  in  any  comfort,  as  my  back  had  been  so 
long  without  covering  it  seemed  as  if  the  shirt  would  burn 
it  up.  I  felt  as  if  a  thousand  sharp  needles  were  sticking  in  me. 
I  stood  it  for  several  hours  then  pulled  it  off  and  sold  it  to 
Davis,  one  of  our  tent  mates,  for  the  sum  of  five  dollars  Con- 
federate money.  I  was  afraid  to  try  the  other  one,  and  lay- 
ing it  away,  turned  my  back  out  to  graze  once  more,  and 
went  about  as  before.  Being  out  one  cold,  bitter  night,  be- 
tween one  and  two  o'clock,  I  ran  across  a  hospital  steward, 
who,  seeing  my  back  without  coat  or  shirt,  called  and  asked 
if  I  had  a  shirt.  I  told  him  no,  which  was  a  lie,  but  an- 
swered my  purpose.  I  wanted  two  shirts.  He  invited  me 
down  to  the  hospital  tent  and  gave  me  a  beautiful  percale  shirt. 
I  immediately  put  it  on.  Being  of  a  different  texture  it  did 
not  worry  me  as  did  the  flannel.  By  this  means  I  again  be- 
came accustomed  to  a  shirt  and  continue  to  wear  one  to 
this  date. 

You  can  bet  I  was  always  on  the  lookout  for  some  chance 
to  make  my  escape  and  hoping  the  time  would  come.  It  did 
come,  and,  as  usual,  I  was  ready  to  try  my  luck.  On  about 
the  20th  of  December  an  order  came  to  send  out  five  hundred 
sick  men  for  exchange,  to  City  Point,  Va.  Finnigan,  a  Yan- 
kee sergeant,  who  had  this  business  in  hand,  did  not  obey  the 


138  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

order  as  given.  Being  a  Mason  he  went  among  the  prison- 
ers and  selected  Masons  to  be  sent  over.  If  a  Reb  with  a  good 
roll  of  greenbacks  was  found,  a  bargain  was  made  and  the 
fellow  would  go.  Being  too  young  to  be  a  Mason,  and  not 
sick,  nor  yet  with  sufficient  funds  to  buy  my  way  out,  my  only 
chance  was  to  flank.  I  determined  to  come  over  with  that 
five  hundred  if  possible.  I  put  my  wits  to  work  but  found 
it  hard  sailing,  yet,  not  discouraged,  I  kept  my  left  eye  open. 
For  some  cause  the  exchange  boat  did  not  come  on  time  and 
the  men  were  put  back  in  the  pen  to  be  called  on  the  arrival 
of  the  boat.  As  near  as  I  can  remember  it  was  between  one 
and  two  on  the  night  of  the  21st.  I  had  not  given  up,  and 
was  out  to  see  what  would  turn  up.  Soon  I  heard  Finnigan 
calling  for  the  five  hundred  to  report  at  mess  house  number 
eleven.  I  worked  my  way  to  that  point  and  awaited  develop- 
ments. Looking  on  for  a  while  and  hearing  Capt.  Patterson 
calling  the  roll,  I  saw  a  very  small  opening  for  a  flank  move- 
ment and  at  once  made  my  way  very  cautiously  to  the  de- 
sired opening.  Now  was  the  trying  time!  Would  I  suc- 
ceed? I  decided  then  and  there  to  make  the  effort,  and 
watching  every  point  carefully,  with  every  nerve  strung,  I 
slowly  edged  my  way  toward  the  guard  I  must  pass.  He 
turned  his  head  but  for  a  moment;  this  was  my  time  and 
away  I  went  into  the  darkness!  Nearing  the  outer  gate  I 
passed  through  with  the  others,  and  was  safe  for  the  present 
on  the  outside.  While  waiting  for  the  whole  five  hundred  to 
get  on  the  outside,  I  approached  a  sentinel  who  was  doing 
parapet  duty  and  asked  him  to  call  R.  D.  Miller,  company  B, 
seventh  division.  He  did  so  and  soon  Chum  put  in  his  ap- 
pearance. I  informed  him  in  a  whisper,  through  a  crack  in 
the  fence,  that  I  had  succeeded  in  flanking  out,  and  he  must 
keep  mum.  We  had  quite  a  long  talk  before  all  were  out  of 
the  pen.  I  gave  him  all  my  belongings  in  camp,  and  told 
him  to  look  out  for  some  money  I  had  written  for,  and  when 
it  c»me  to  represent  me  and  use  it  for  himself,  which  he  did, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  139 

and  enjoyed,  while  I  was  in  Dixie.  I  bade  him  good-bye, 
told  him  not  to  go  in  swimming  for  oysters,  and  if  he  didn't 
die,  I  thought  at  some  time  he  might  see  Dixie  again.  Thanks 
to  a  strong  constitution  and  a  mean  disposition,  he  did  live 
to  get  home.  I  left  him  with  a  sad  heart.  If  he  could  have 
come  with  me  all  would  have  been  lovely;  to  leave  the  old. 
chum  was  indeed  hard  to  bear.  We  had  become  as  it  were 
more  than  brothers.  In  camp,  on  the  march,  or  under  fire, 
we  were  always  together.  Now,  to  leave  him  in  prison  and 
wend  my  way  to  hoTne  and  friends,  touched  a  soft  place  in 
my  nature,  and  I  almost  regretted  having  made  my  escape. 
But  such  is  life !  Made  up  of  sunshine  and  shadow,  and  each 
to  be  enjoyed  or  endured  as  the  case  may  demand. 

All  the  Kebs  for  exchange  were  now  outside  the  pen  and 
were  formed  in  two  ranks  and  marched  to  the  wharf,  put 
aboard  the  steamer  "City  of  New  York,"  which  now  weighed 
anchor  and  steamed  away  for  Fort  Monroe.  Here  we  remained 
for  an  hour  or  two,  then  steamed  for  James  river.  Entering 
this  beautiful  stream  we  made  our  way  up  to  City  Point,  where 
the  exchange  would  take  place.  On  our  arrival  we  found 
the  Confederate  exchange  boat  had  not  yet  put  in  its  appear- 
ance. The  "City  of  New  York,"  now  cast  her  anchor  in 
mid-stream  to  await  the  Confederate  boat.  None  of  us  were 
permitted  to  land.  Maj.  Mumford,  the  Federal  agent  of  ex- 
change, went  ashore  in  a  row  boat  to  ascertain  what  detained 
our  boat.  He  soon  catoae  aboard  again  and  informed  us,  our 
boat,  on  its  way  down,  had  hung  upon  some  obstructions 
placed  in  the  river  by  our  own  government  to  prevent  the  Yan- 
kee gimboats  from  ascending.  Owing  to  this  it  would  not 
reach  us  until  the  next  day.  We  did  not  relish  this  much 
and  wanted  him  to  land  us  at  City  Point  so  we  might  march 
to  Richmond.  This  he  said  he  could  not  do.  The  boys  got 
mad  and  informed  him  we  would  consent  to  remain  on  board 
until  ten  o'clock  next  day,  and  if  by  that  time  our  boat  had 
not  arrived,  we  would  land  by  force  if  necessary.     At  this  he 


140  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

threatened  to  weigh  anchor  and  take  us  back  to  Fort  Mon- 
roe. He  was  told  we  would  not  submit  to  that ;  we  were  now 
in  old  Dixie,  and  would  die  before  we  would  go  back  to 
prison.  We  meant  what  we  said.  Fifty  men  were  detailed 
to  guard  that  anchor  during  the  night,  with  orders  to  give 
the  alarm  should  any  attempt  be  made  to  lift  it.  Major 
MvTmford  did  not  expect  to  be  delayed  in  making  the  ex- 
change, consequently  there  were  not  rations  enough  on  board 
to  feed  the  men.  Being  hungry,  and  seeing  no  other  way 
to  get  something  to  eat,  the  Rebs  broke  into  the  ladies'  cabin 
where  many  good  things  were  stored  to  be  sent  to  the  Yankee 
prisoners  at  Libby  prison,  and  such  a  feast  as  we  had  you 
never  saw.  Ask  Ned  Erambert  to  tell  you  of  what  some  of 
those  things  consisted.  I  understand  he  got  some  of  our 
leavings  after  they  were  put  aboard  the  Confederate  boat. 
Nothing  happened  during  the  night  to  disturb  us.  Bright 
and  early  next  morning  we  were  up  casting  anxious  eyes  up 
the  river  for  our  boat.  About  nine  o'clock  we  discovered  a 
column  of  black  smoke  ascending  far  up  the  river.  We  were 
informed  this  was  our  boat.  Sure  enough,  the  smoke  came 
nearer,  until  finally  we  saw  the  old  boat,  with  a  lighter  eith- 
er side  of  her,  slowly  approaching  us.  You  hear  us  talk 
about  the  rebel  yell !  You  ought  to  have  heard  the  one  given 
by  those  five  hundred,  as  our  boat  came  along-side  the  Yan- 
kee steamer!  It  fairly  made  the  steamer,  "City  of  New 
York,"  tremble.  Our  boat  was  very  small,  so  all  the  Yan- 
kees were  transfered  to  the  "City  of  New  York"  before  we 
could  leave.  As  the  last  Yank  stepped  aboard  the  "New 
York,"  I  jumped  frdm  the  top  deck,  a  distance  of  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet,  to  our  boat.  Thus,  though  a  flanker,  I  was  the 
first  Reb  on  our  boat ! 

All  my  fears  were  now  at  rest.  I  was  safe  at  last  I 
Here  T  found  Ned  and  Jimmie  Erambert,  who  had  come  down 
from  Richmond  as  guards  on  our  boat.  We  soon  cast  off  and 
headed  for  Richmond,  where  we  arrived  after  dark.    After 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  141 

landing  we  were  placed  under  guard  and  started  for  Camp 
Lee.  The  guard  succeeded  in  getting  very  few  to  camp; 
the  boys  were  making  their  escape  all  along  the  line.  I  did 
not  reach  Camp  Lee  until  near  day-break.  I  had  right 
much  money  with  me,  flanked  the  guard  early  in  the  start 
and,  taking  a  young  fellow  named  Wilks  with  me,  we  pro- 
ceeded to  hunt  up  a  bar-room,  or  restaurant.  We  soon 
found  one^  and  after  taking  on  several  eye-openers  at  the 
price  of  five  dollars  a  smell,  I  called  for  the  best  grub  they 
had,  and  we  proceeded  to  fill  the  vacuum  in  our  rebel  hides. 
After  doing  this  we  again  went  for  the  eye-openers,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  storing  away  several  more,  which  began  to  make  us 
feel  good.  We  were  now  in  good  trim  to  see  the  town.  You 
can  bet  your  last  cent  we  saw  it  all  over  before  Camp  Lee 
saw  us. 

I  had  now  been  from  my  home  and  people  for  more  than 
nineteen  months.  I  went  to  General  Winder,  who  was  in 
charge  of  us,  and  stated  my  case  to  him,  telling  him  I  had 
made  my  escape  from  Point  Lookout,  and  had  not  seen  my 
people  for  so  long,  and  asking  him  to  grant  me  a  furiough 
to  visit  my  home  before  again  reporting  to  my  command  for 
duty  in  the  field.  He  listened  to  my  statement  very  patiently, 
and  said  he  would  look  into  my  case,  and  if  I  had  made  my 
escape  as  stated,  he  would  grant  me  a  furlough  for  thirty  days. 
I  guess  he  found  out  my  statement  was  true,  as  in  a  few 
days  Captain  Patterson,  in  charge  of  Camp  Lee,  handed  me 
the  furlough,  and  I  left  for  home.  I  was  not  prepared  for 
the  change  I  found  in  old  Farmville.  It  looked  like  a  dead 
town.  No  business  going  on,  nobody  at  home  except  the 
ladies^  old  men  and  boys,  too  old  or  too  young  to  enter  the 
army.  The  Yankees  said  we  had  robbed  the  cradle  and  the 
grave  to  fill  our  ranks.  I  must  say  it  looked  very  much  that 
way.  Of  course  I  was  very  glad  to  be  at  home  with  my  dear 
mother,  father,  and  the  children,  but  the  town  was  )too 
dead  for  me.    I  remained  several  days,  then  putting  on  a 


142  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

"biled''  shirt,  and  the  best  I  had,  I  struck  out  for  my  company, 
now  doing  provost  duty  in  the  city  of  Petersburg.  I  re- 
mained with  them  to  within  a  few  days  of  the  expiration  of 
my  furlough,  then  returned  home  to  make  my  arrangements 
to  rejoin  the  army  for  duty  in  the  field,  of  which  I  shall,  with 
your  permission,  have  something  to  say  later  on  in  another 
communication  in  your  paper. 

Thanking  you  for  placing  before  your  readers  all  I  have 
so  far,  in  my  feeble  way,  written,  I  remain,  yours  very 
truly. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  143 

In  the  beginning  of  this  article,  permit  me  to  say,  I  do 
not  wish  what  I  shall  write  to  be  misunderstood  at  any  point. 
It  will  not  be  an  attefmpt  to  blow  my  own  horn,  nor  yet  to 
silence  that  of  another,  but  merely  an  honest  effort  to  state 
facts  and  incidents  as  they  occurred  in  my  own  varied  experi- 
ence in  four  years  of  war.  In  order  to  do  this,  of  course  the 
little  "I"  must  necessarily  show  itself  often  at  the  front,  but 
not  in  an  egotistical  way,  and  I  trust  my  readers  will  not  view 
my  articles  from  that  standpoint.  Again,  I  say,  remember  I 
am  not  attempting  to  write  a  history  of  the  war,  but  merely 
that  part  in  which  I  was  an  humble  participant.  ''Nuff  sed." 
Now  for  the  article ! 

In  my  last  communication  I  stated  that  I  remained  in 
Petersburg  with  my  company,  to  within  a  few  days  of  the  ex- 
piration of  my  furlough,  then  returned  ho-me  to  make  ar- 
rangements to  rejoin  the  army  in  the  field,  for  duty.  Dur- 
ing by  absence  my  dear  mother  had  been  hard  at  work  mak- 
ing for  me  the  very  best  clothes  to  be  had,  from  the  materials 
to  be  found  at  that  time.  To  my  surprise  and  delight,  on  my 
arrival  at  home,  I  found  a  nice  new  uniform,  some  under- 
wear, and  a  pair  of  coarse  shoes.  The  shoes  I  put  on  at  once. 
Being  new  and  very  rough,  they  soon  had  all  the  skin  off 
my  heels.  I  paid  very  little  attention  to  it  at  first,  and  the 
consequence  was  my  heels  became  running  sores:  I  could 
scarcely  walk  at  all .  Notwithstanding  this,  I  determined 
to  report  to  my  command  in  time.  So,  at  the  expiration  of 
my  furlough,  I  reported  to  Dr.  Taliaferro,  whose  office  was 
then  on  the  second  floor  of  the  old  two-story  frame  building 
standing  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  new  brick  store- 
house owned  by  Mr.  George  Kichardson.  Here  I  asked  for 
transportation,  which  was  furnished  by  the  government  to  all 
soldiers  returning  to  their  commands  in  the  field.  While  the 
clerk  was  preparing  my  papers.  Dr.  Walton,  who  was  then 
stationed  here,  came  in;  he  was  the  first  surgeon  of  my  regi- 
ment.    Seeing  me  there  he  wanted  to  know  my  business.    I 


144  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

told  him  I  was  on  my  way  to  rejoin  my  company.  About 
this  time  my  papers  were  ready,  and  I  walked  across  to  the 
clerk's  desk  to  get  them.  The  doctor  now  discovered  the  con- 
dition of  my  shoes.  I  could  not  bear  to  have  them  touch  my 
heels  so  had  "slip-shod"  them  and  pushed  my  feet  in.  He 
made  me  take  them  off ;  examined  my  heels,  and  told  me  that 
I  could  not  go  back  to  the  army  in  that  condition,  as  I  was 
not  fit  for  duty.  He  said  I  could  remain  at  my  home,  but  to 
consider  myself  a  hospital  patient  and  to  report  every  morn- 
ing and  he  would  report  my  case  to  the  captain  of  my  com- 
pany. This  was  law,  and  I  of  course,  had  to  obey.  I  re- 
mained under  his  treatment  for  twenty-one  days,  and  again 
made  application  for  transportation,  which  was  granted. 

I  knew  my  regiment  had  been  ordered  to  North  Caro- 
lina, but  to  what  point  I  did  not  know  until  I  reached  Peters- 
burg. Here  I  ascertained  it  was  near  Goldsboro.  I  then  se- 
cured transportation  to  that  point,  via  the  Petersburg  and 
Weldon  railroad.  On  my  arrival  I  found  they  were  in  camp 
about  one  mile  north  of  the  town.  On  my  way  out  to  camp 
I  passed  the  quarters  of  our  head  surgeon.  Dr.  Gaines;  he 
too  noticed  my  feet,  which  were  now  again  in  "slip-shod" 
shoes.  He  call  to  me  to  come  by.  I  told  him  I  was  anxious 
to  see  the  boys  first,  and  to  deliver  letters  and  other  articles, 
sent  by  me,  to  them.  The  boys  were  all  glad  to  see  me  back 
in  the  ranks  again.  After  chatting  with  them  a  while,  I 
reported  to  Captain  Morrissette  for  duty.  He  instructed  Ser- 
geant Elam  to  get  my  war  harness.  This  consisted  of  musket, 
cartridge-box,  cap-box,  and  about  sixty  rounds  of  ball  cart- 
ridges. I  now  remembered  my  promise  to  Dr.  Gaines,  who 
had  always  been  my  good  friend.  I  went  up  to  see  and  shake 
hands  with  him.  After  some  conversation,  he,  like  Dr.  Wal- 
ton, referred  to  my  feet  and  examined  them.  He  at  once 
wanted  to  know  if  I  had  reported  for  duty.  I  told  him  yes. 
He  said,  return  to  camp,  tell  Sergeant  Elam  to  put  you  on 
the  sick  list,  get  your  belongings,  and  report  to  me  here ;  you 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  145 


are  unfit  for  duty;  your  heel  is  in  very  bad  condition,  and 
needs  attention  at  once. 

Law  again  and  another  rest  in  view !  But  this  time  I 
was  with  the  boys  and  satisfied.  The  doctor  had  two  very  fine 
iron-gray  horses,  and  one  of  which  he  turned  over  to  me 
for  my  own  use.  This  was  a  big  thing  for  me;  no  duty,  and 
when  the  boys  marched  in  the  mud  and  sand,  I  rode  my  iron- 
gray  at  their  head !  I  also  used  the  horse  in  my  pie-rooting 
trips.  The  doctor's  mess,  of  which  I  was  one,  lived  high 
while  my  heel  was  sore,  and  I  rather  think  he  was  mad  when 
it  was  well.  Sometimes  I  would  be  five  miles  from  the 
marching  column,  and  secured  everything  in  reach  that  was 
good  to  eat. 

My  feet  again  in  good  condition,  I  reported  to  the  com- 
pany for  duty.  We  had  now  reached  Tarboro,  and  camped 
for  several  days.  When  orders  came  to  march  we  formed 
column  and  head  for  Kinston  and  on  arriving  there,  marched 
through  its  main  street,  which  was  knee  deep  in  sand.  We 
continued  the  march  and  crossed  the  Neuse  river  and  went 
into  camp  about  one  mile  from  the  bridge.  Here  we  re- 
mained for  some  time,  with  nothing  to  do  but  camp  duty, 
which  was  very  light.  Old  Bow  Harvey  (who  has  since 
died  in  the  Soldier's  Home  in  Richmond),  and  I,  had  become 
chums,  "Hootsey  B"  being  still  in  prison.  Bow  and  I, 
employed  our  time  in  fishing  and  in  visiting  some  gunboats 
in  course  of  construction  at  this  point.  I  don't  think  they 
were  ever  completed,  but  blown  up  at  the  approach  of  some 
Yankee  soldiers. 

I  will  here  state  that  the  8th,  19th,  28th,  and  56th,  Vir- 
ginia Regiments  of  my  brigade  were  still  doing  duty  in 
Virginia,  we,  the  18th,  having  been  detached  and  ordered  to 
report  to  General  Corse,  otherwise  known  to  the  boys  as  "old 
puss  in  the  boots."  The  old  general  was  a  heavy-set,  short 
legged  man,  and  wore  boots  reaching  far  above  his  knees, 
hence  the  pet  name  of  "old  puss  in  the  boots."    The  old  man 


146  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

was  as  brave  as  the  bravest,  and  not  only  loved  by  the 
men  of  his  own  brigade,  but  by  the  whole  of  that  grand  di- 
vision of  Virginians. 

General  Pickett,  who  was  now  in  command  of  this  military 
department,  was  concentrating  a  small  force  in  and  around 
Kinston  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  attack  on  Newberne. 
Everything  being  ready,  on  May  the  3rd,  orders  came  to 
break  camp,  and  we  commenced  the  march  for  Newberne. 
During  the  3rd  the  roads  were  good,  consisting  mostly  of  soft 
sand,  and  very  hard  to  march  over.  On  the  4th  we  began  to 
reach  the  lower  country  and  here  our  troubles  commenced. 
The  whole  country  looked  like  one  vast  swamp ;  water  stand- 
ing all  along  the  ^'oad  from  six  inches  to  four  feet  deep  where 
the  creeks  crossed  our  path.  At  first  the  boys  began  to  coon 
the  logs  put  up  by  the  people  to  cross  the  deeper  water. 
Our  commander  soon  found  this  to  be  too  slow,  so  he  ordered 
the  pioneers  ahead  to  pull  the  logs  down,  which  was  done. 
Now  the  boys  had  to  take  it  as  it  came,  deep  or  shallow,  in 
you  go,  out  you  come,  clothes  and  all  on!  Our  horses  were 
very  poor  and  could  not  get  the  wagon  train  along  fast 
enough.  A  detail  of  men  was  made  to  help  get  the  wagons 
ahead.  Tucker  Paulett,  otherwise  "I^egs,"  and  myself,  were 
put  with  our  ammunition  wagon.  Our  duty  was  to  assist  the 
horses  in  getting  through  the  swamps  by  shoving  at  the 
hind  wheels.  At  first  we  would,  on  arriving  at  a  swamp, 
pull  off  our  clothes,  jump  in  and  get  the  wagon  over,  dress, 
and  follow  on  again.  We  had  two  extra  mules  but  no  harness, 
so  Legs  and  I  rode  them  when  we  were  not  pushing  the  wagon. 

Eight  here  permit  me  to  relate  an  incident  that  happened 
on  this  trip.  The  swamps  had  become  so  frequent,  to  un- 
dress and  dress  at  each  was  too  much  trouble.  So  I  pro- 
posed to  Legs  that  we  strip,  put  our  clothing  in  the  wagon, 
and  go  it  blind  and  stark  naked,  to  which  he  agreed.  The 
country  was  sparsely  settled,  so  we  ran  little  risk  of  being 
seen  by  many  who  wore  the  calico.    At  the  next  swamp  we 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  147 


stripped  off  every  rag  and  put  therm  in  the  wagon.  This 
proved  to  be  a  short  one  and  we  soon  had  the  wagon  over.  We 
then  mounted  our  mules  and  followed  after  the  train.  I 
admit  it  was  a  queer  sight  and  created  much  fun  for  the 
boys,  but  Legs  and  I  were  as  happy  as  a  dead  pig  in  the  sun- 
shine. The  next  was  a  very  long  swamp,  something  over  a 
mile  wide.  We  got  down  and  tied  our  mules  and  helped  to 
get  the  whole  train  over.  To  do  this  we  did  not  go  quite  to 
the  end,  as  the  ground  was  firmer  on  that  side.  The  last 
wagon  out,  we  returned  to  deep  water,  washed  the  mud  off 
ourselves,  mounted  our  mules,  and  started  across.  Just  be- 
fore reaching  the  opposite  side  we  heard  much  talking  and 
laughter.  Not  being  able  to  make  it  out  we  halted  and  lis- 
tened. It  did  not  take  long  to  discover,  from  the  musical 
tones,  and  silvery  laughter,  that  much  calico  was  in  that 
crowd.  It  seemed  that  all  the  women  and  children  in  that 
neighborhood  had  selected  this  point  to  see  our  army  pass. 
How  to  get  by  them  in  our  condition  was  the  question.  On 
either  side  of  the  road  the  bamboo  briers  were  as  thick  as 
rabbit  tracks  in  the  snow,  and  no  way  to  flank.  So  there 
was  nothing  to  do  but  put  on  a  brave  front  and  charge 
straight  up  the  road.  I  put  my  arms  around  the  mule's 
neck,  hung  on,  Indian  fashion,  on  the  off-side,  gave  him  the 
stick,  and  shot  past  the  crowd.  They  were  astonished,  failed 
to  make  me  out,  and  no  doubt  thought  me  a  strange  com- 
pound, part  mule  and  part  man.  But  Legs  was  yet  to  come. 
He  was  afraid  to  do  the  Indian  act,  but  with  a  yell  he  came 
charging  up  the  road,  sitting  bolt  upright  on  that  mule!  If 
the  devil  himself  had  come  out  of  that  swamp  those  people 
could  not  have  gotten  out  of  the  way  any  faster.  Legs  did 
not  even  have  time  to  say,  "Just  tell  them  that  you  saw  me" 
before  the  last  one  was  out  of  sight.  I  could  not  help  but 
laugh  when  I  thought  of  an  old  saying,  heard  many  years 
ago:  "Scatter,  Sal;  scatter,  what  the  devil  do  you  keep  me 
now  for."    When  Legs  caught  up  with  us  he  said,  "Bones,  we 


148  History  of  Prince  Edward  County. 


will  put  on  our  clothes,"  and  we  did  after  passing  the  next 
swamp.  After  going  into  camp  that  night,  we  were  relieved, 
and  reported  back  to  our  company. 

We  were  now  near  Newberne,  and  had  captured  several 
stockade  forts  and  many  prisoners.  On  the  morning  of  the 
2nd  of  May  we  continued  to  advance,  and  crossed  the  rail- 
road leading  out  to  Moorehead  city,  and  rested  our  right  flank 
on  the  Neuse  river  just  below  Newberne.  Here  I  saw  the 
first  locomotive  converted  into  an  iron-clad  battery.  The 
Yanks  ran  it  out  from  Newberne  and  opened  fire  at  us  as 
we  crossed  the  railroad.  The  Yankee  gunboat  began  to  shell 
us.  A  150-lb.  shell  fell  just  in  front  of  my  regiment;  buried 
itself  in  the  soft  earth,  and  exploded,  digging  a  nice  well, 
from  which  we  got  our  supply  of  water ! 

The  troops  on  our  left  flank  had  not  been  idle.  They 
had  already  captured  one  fort  and  sixty  prisoners.  Prepara- 
tions were  now  in  full  progress  to  make  a  general  attack 
on  the  Yankee  works  all  along  the  line,  when  orders  came  for 
us  to  withdraw  and  hurry  back  to  Kinston.  We  were  needed 
in  old  Virginia ! 

General  Grant,  who  was  now  in  command  of  the  army 
of  the  Potomac,  had  completed  his  plans  for  conducting  the 
campaign  against  ''Marse  Robert"  in  the  Wilderness.  The 
army  of  Northern  Virginia  had  never  before  had  such  num- 
l3ers,  and  vast  resources,  to  contend  against.  The  official 
return  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  on  May  1st,  1864,  shows 
present  for  duty,  a  total  of  141,160  men  of  all  arms.  To 
meet,  and  successfully  resist  this  vast  host.  General  Lee,  by 
official  returns  of  his  army,  had  only  63,984  men  of  all 
arms :  a  difference  in  favor  of  General  Grant,  of  77,176  men ; 
or  more  than  two  for  one.  I  am  thus  particular  in  giving 
the  relative  strength  of  the  two  armies,  in  order  that  the 
reader  may  have  a  proper  conception,  and  appreciation  of 
the  difficulties  that  beset  our  great  commander  and  the  noble 
men  who  fought  under  him.    In  addition  to  this  force,  Gen- 


Hktory  of  Prince  Edward  County  149 

eral  Grant  had  ordered  General  Butler  (the  beast)  to  leave 
Fort  Monroe  with  38,000  more,  and  land  them  on  the  James 
River,  between  Richmond  and  Petersburg,  to  capture  one  or 
both  these  cities  if  possible.  It  was  to  meet  this  attack  of 
Butler's  that  we  were  ordered  back  to  Virginia.  Our  return 
march  was  commenced  from  Newberne  on  the  afternoon  of  the 
5th  of  May  and  continued  until  the  8th,  on  which  day  we 
reached  Kinston  and  halted.  From  this  place  we  took  the 
cars,  passed  through  Greensboro,  and  on  to  Stony  Creek,  where 
we  arrived  on  the  evening  of  the  13th,  and  camped.  The 
Yanks  had  been  here  and  burned  the  bridge,  and  our  train 
could  go  no  further.  A  train  of  cars  was  sent  out  from 
Petersburg.  This  reached  us  on  the  morning  of  the  14th.  We 
immediately  got  aboard  and  were  soon  in  Petersburg.  We 
were  broken  down  and  hungry,  and  had  been  told  that  the 
good  people  of  Petersburg  would  feed  us  as  we  passed 
through  the  city.  This  was  not  to  be.  On  our  arrival  we 
found  the  people  much  excited  and  no  grub  in  sight.  Butler 
was  then  destroying  the  railroad  between  Petersburg  and 
Richmond!  We  left  the  cars  at  Jarratt's  Hotel  in  Peters- 
burg and  hurriedly  formed  line  and  away  we  went  at  the 
double  quick  down  Sycamore  street  and  across  the  Pocahon- 
tas bridge  into  the  county  of  Chesterfield.  We  took  up  our 
line  of  march  along  the  pike  leading  to  Richmond.  Not 
knowing  exactly  where  Mr.  Butler  was,  we  threw  forward 
skirmishers,  and  marched  sloAvly  behind  them.  When  we 
began  to  close  up  on  him,  Mr.  Butler  found  he  was  on  the 
wrong  road,  and  fell  back  toward  the  James  river,  thereby 
leaving  the  pike  open  to  us  to  Richmond.  We  quickjy 
availed  ourselves  of  this  error,  and  passed  rapidly  along  his 
front,  and  halted  at  the  "Half-way  House"  and  went  into 
line  of  battle  along  Deep  Creek,  and  called  check  to  his 
march  on  to  Richmond.  Here  we  remained  in  line  of  bat- 
tle all  night  expecting  an  attack  but  none  came.  Old  "Tin 
Ware"  Wicker  and  myself  were  in  the  skirmish  line  that 


150  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

night  and  could  hear  the  Yanks  forming  their  lines  and  get- 
ting into  position  for  tomorrow's  fight. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  our  skirmish  line  was 
drawn  in  Avithout  a  fight.  We  had  only  nine  thousand  men 
in  front  of  Butler's  thirty-eight  thousand.  We  were  out- 
numbered more  than  four  to  one,  but  ready  to  put  up  a 
good  fight,  which  Butler  soon  found  out.  Butler  began  to 
move  and  soon  the  fight  was  on.  He  threw  a  flanking  column 
down  our  right,  which  we  could  not  resist  while  in  the  works, 
so  we  vacated  the  line  and  gave  them  battle  in  the  open  field. 
Here  too,  they  proved  too  many  for  us.  After  a  short  and 
sharp  fight,  we  fell  back  to  our  second  line  of  works.  But- 
ler did  not  attack  again  that  day.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  16th  we  heard  the  pop,  pop,  of  the  skirmish  line  on  our 
left,  then  the  long  roll  of  musketry  as  the  infantry  advanced. 
We  at  first  thought  it  was  the  Yankees  making  the  attack, 
but  soon  found  by  the  firing  that  the  Rebs  were  getting  down 
to  business  and  making  things  lively  for  Butler  and  his  peo- 
ple. Soon  the  order  came  for  us  to  leap  the  breastworks, 
and  charge  the  Yankees  in  our  front,  which  we  did  in  fine 
style,  and  with  the  old  Reb  yell.  We  never  stopped  until 
we  had  cleaned  them  up.  Our  entire  line,  consisting  of 
9,000  men  was  advancing  in  good  order,  and  fighting  trim, 
on  Butler's  38,000 !  Strange,  but  true,  in  less  than  two  hours 
we  had  whipped  them  so  bad  they  did  not  stop  running  un- 
til they  reached  the  breastworks  on  the  James  river.  Had 
General  Whiting,  who  was  near  Petersburg,  and  in  Butler's 
rear,  done  his  duty,  we  would  have  captured  Butler  and  his 
whole  army. 

We  followed  Butler's  retreating  forces  until  we  had 
reached  our  former  position  near  the  Half -Way  House.  Here 
we  again  formed  line  of  battle  along  our  outer  line  of  works, 
and  remained  during  the  night  of  the  16th.  On  the  morning 
ol  the  17th  we  resumed  our  advance  toward  Petersburg, 
and  again  formed  line  of  battle  along  the  pike.     Soon  the 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  161 

order  came  to  moA^e  forward  and  we  commenced  the  advance 
toward  the  James  river,  on  which  Butler  had  retreated  under 
cover  of  his  gunboats.  We  soon  struck  his  skirmish  line, 
which  was  driven  back  on  his  main  line.  Our  line  of  battle 
was  now  up,  and  ready  to  grapple  again  with  Mr.  Butler. 
He  did  not  wish  to  feel  us  again  so  soon,  and  withdrew  his 
line  nearer  the  river.  We  halted  here  and  threw  up  a  slight 
line  of  works.  My  company  was  now  detailed,  and  thrown 
forward  as  skirmishers,  in  front  of  our  regiment.  We  de- 
ployed to  the  front  and  commenced  the  advance  again,  leav- 
ing the  other  troops  to  complete  the  line  of  works.  We  ad- 
vanced across  an  open  field  and  entered  a  large  body  of 
woods.  Here  we  felt  sure  we  would  run  into  the  Yankees 
and  again  open  up  the  fight,  but  they  had  continued  their 
retreat  and  we  failed  to  locate  them.  Night  was  now^  coming 
on,  but  we  continued  the  advance  for  half  a  mile  further  and 
halted  in  position.  We  were  noAv  more  than  one  mile  in  ad- 
vance of  our  line  of  battle,  and  each  of  us  selected  the  best 
possible  position  for  the  night's  duty.  We  fully  expected 
the  Yankees  would  feel  us  out  during  the  night  and  we  were 
not  disappointed.  About  twelve  o'clock  they  came  up  a  wood, 
leading  to  our  position.  It  so  happened  that  old  Bow  Har- 
vey's post  in  line  was  right  in  this  road.  He  saw  the  road 
suddenly  darken  in  his  front,  not  twenty  yards  off.  He  knew 
the  Yankees  were  coming  and,  without  a  word,  raised  his 
musket  and  fired.  My  post  was  just  ten  feet  to  his  left,  and 
behind  a  big  pine  tree.  I  let  drive  at  them,  w^hen  the  whole 
line  opened.  We  fought  them  for  half  an  hour,  when  they 
retired,  but  not  yet  satisfied.  They  wished  to  find  out  where 
our  line  of  battle  w^as,  and  in  about  an  hour  they  advanced 
again.  Everything  was  quiet  along  our  line,  but  all  on  the 
alert.  We  could  hear  the  tramp,  but  could  not  see  them. 
It  was  cloudy,  and  very  dark  in  the  woods.  Here  and  there 
we  could  hear  the  officer  in  command  say  to  his  men :  "Steady 
on  the  right :  steady  on  the  right."  .  This  gave  us  a  cue  as 


152  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

to  their  distance  from  us.  Captain  Morrissette  cautioned  the 
boys  to  hold  their  fire.  We  did  so  until  they  were  within  twen- 
ty-five yards,  then  our  muskets  began  to  talk  in  earnest.  The 
Yanks  returned  the  fire  at  once.  We  now  had  the  flash  of 
each  other's  guns  to  fire  at,  and  the  midnight  fight  waxed 
warm  and  furious;  the  boys  were  there  to  stay;  the  Yanks 
could  not  move  them.  After  a  half-hour's  good,  hard,  stand- 
up  fight,  they  gave  up  the  job  and  retreated.  We  made  no 
effort  to  follow  them  in  the  dark. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  ISth,  we  were  relieved  and 
returned  to  the  line  of  battle.  Our  company  had  now  been 
on  duty  for  twenty-four  hours  without  sleep,  and  very  little 
of  anything  to  eat,  yet  went  to  work  on  the  breastworks  as 
soon  as  we  reached  the  line,  and  worked  until  night,  by  which 
time  we  had  a  very  good  line  of  works,  and  wanted  the 
Yanks  to  give  us  one  fight  from  behind  them.  We  never  got 
the  chance.  All  our  labor  was  lost.  Early  in  the  night  of  the 
19th  we  were  relived  by  other  troops,  ordered  to  vacate  the 
Avorks  and  march  to  Richmond,  which  we  reached  on  the 
morning  of  the  20th,  got  aboard  the  cars  and  started  in  the 
direction  of  General  Lee's  Arm3^  Arriving  at  Penola  sta- 
tion we  found  Yanks  in  that  neighborhood.  We  got  off  the 
cars  and  prepared  to  fight.  My  company  was  again  de- 
tailed and  thrown  forward  as  skirmishers,  and  was  ordered 
to  go  forward  and  protect  a  railroad  bridge  about  a  mile  be- 
low the  station.  Captain  Morrissette  placed  a  man  in  the 
center  of  the  track  and  deployed  his  men  right  and  left, 
using  this  man  as  a  guide  for  the  line.  The  command,  "For- 
ward; guide  centre,"  soon  came  and  off  we  went  double  quick 
for  the  bridge.  When  within  one  hundred  yards  of  the  bridge, 
we  discovered  the  Yankees  about  the  same  distance  on  the 
other  side,  coming  up  to  the  bridge.  It  was  now  a  race  as 
to  which  would  get  there  first.  It  fell  to  our  luck,  and  we 
opened  a  brisk  fire  on  them.  They  returned  the  fire,  but  soon 
fell  back.    We  now  went  to  work  digging  rifle  pits,  and  soon 


HiMory  of  Prince  Edward  County  153 

had  good  ones.  It  did  not  take  a  Reb  long  in  those  days  to 
wiggle  a  hole  in  the  ground  to  hide  his  head.  It  was  now 
quite  dark.  Bob  Elam  and  myself  decided  to  have  a  good  cup 
of  coffee  j  we  had  gotten  some  out  of  the  havei-sacks  of  the 
dead  Yankees  on  the  16th.  We  soon  had  a  fire;  boiled  our 
coffee:  ate  what  bread  we  had;  and  resumed  our  position 
near  our  rifle  pit. 

Late  in  the  night  we  heard  a  heavy  splashing  in  the  river 
above  and  below  us.  For  some  time  we  could  not  make  it 
out,  and  two  men  were  sent  to  find  out  the  cause.  They  soon 
returned  and  informed  the  Captain  that  the  Yankee  cavalry 
were  swimming  their  horses  across  the  river  above  and  be- 
low and  were  then  surrounding  us.  Captain  Morrisette  im- 
mediately drew  in  the  boys  from  right  and  left,  formed  us 
in  single  file  on  the  railroad,  and  ordered  us  to  stick  to  the 
roadbed,  but  to  git,  and  git  fast.  You  bet  we  got,  and  got 
in  a  hurry.  We  succeeded  in  passing  out  just  as  their  two 
lines  were  crossing  to  cut  us  off.  They  opened  fire  on  us  and 
we  handed  them  a  few  in  return,  but  kept  *'a  gitting"  all 
the  same.  Reaching  the  station  where  we  expected  to  find 
the  regiment,  to  our  surprise  not  a  man  was  there;  not  even 
one  to  direct  us  the  way  they  went !  We .  were  in  a  pretty 
fix.  Had  the  Yankees  now  come  up,  they  would  have  gob- 
bled up  the  last  one  of  us.  Lucky  for  us,  the  moon  was  now 
up  and,  by  getting  close  down  to  the  ground,  we  discovered 
the  way  the  toe  marks  pointed,  and  followed  them  as  our 
guide.  About  day  we  came  up  with  them,  on  the  Telegraph 
road  on  which  General  Lee's  army  was  moving  to  keep  up 
with  General  Grant  in  his  great  flanking  movement.  We  rest- 
ed here  while  Lee's  troops  were  passing,  and  fell  in  with  the 
rear  guard  and  marched  to  Hanover  Junction. 

On  the  23rd  we  marched  to  Andersonville  during  the 
night,  halted  there  until  the  27th,  when  we  left,  and  made 
seventeen  miles  in  the  rain,  and  camped  near  Atlee's  station. 
The  following  day  we  passed  the  station  and  marched  about 


.154  Hhtory  of  Prince  Edward  County 

12  miles  toward  Hanovertown,  and  camped  about  three  miles 
from  Mechanics ville.  On  the  evening  of  the  30th  we  reached 
the  line  of  entrenchment  near  Cold  Harbor.  Here  we  had  a 
very  heavy  fight  with  Grant's  army,  in  which  we  lost  mar.y 
good  men. 

One  June  1st  there  was  heavy  fighting  on  our  right ;  also 
on  the  2nd,  when  Gen.  Early  drove  the  enemy  some  distance. 
On  the  5th  more  fighting  in  Kershaw  and  Hoke's  front  on 
the  right.  On  the  7th,  General  Early's  command  drove  in 
the  Yankee  skirmish  line,  taking  about  one  hundred  pris- 
oners. 

We  were  still  doing  duty  with  General  Corse's  brigade, 
and  the  boys  were  anxious  to  get  again  with  our  own^  (Hun- 
ton's  brigade)  and  r«.q':ested  Col.  Carrington,  who  was  in 
command  of  our  regiment,  to  demand  the  same.  Not  many 
hours  elapsed  before  the  order  came  to  fall  in.  We  were 
satisfied  orders  had  come  for  us  to  return  to  our  brigade.  The 
boys  fell  in  with  a  3'^ell.  As  we  marched  out  wo  found  "Old 
Puss  in  the  boots,"  and  many  of  his  men  had  placed  them- 
selves along  our  line  of  march  to  bid  us  good-bye.  As  we 
passed,  "Old  Puss"  stood  with  his  hat  off,  and  a  smile  on 
his  face,  and  said,  "God  bless  you,  boys."  We  halted,  gave 
the  old  man  three  rousing  cheers  and  passed  out.  On  ar- 
riving at  our  brigade  camp  we  found  everything  ready  for 
cur  reception.  General  Hunton  and  the  boys  had  turned  out 
to  welcome  us  back,  and  with  cheers,  hand-shaking,  and  kind 
words,  we  resumed  our  position  with  the  old  war  brigade  once 
more. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th,  we  found  the  enemy  had 
left  our  front,  and  were  moving  toward  the  river.  At  an 
early  hour  we  started,  marching  in  a  parallel  line  with  the 
enemy,  passing  over  the  old  battle-field  of  Gaines'  Mill, 
crossed  the  Chicahominy  river  over  McClellan's  bridge,  near 
Seven  Pines,  and  halted  near  the  battle  field  of  Frazier's 
Farm.     On  the  morning  of  the  16th  we  started  at  daybreak, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  155 

marched  to  Chaffin's  Bluff,  and  crossed  the  James  river  on  a 
pontoon  bridge. 

Passing  over  the  battle  ground  of  Drewry's  Bluff,  we 
got  on  the  turnpike  leading  to  Petersburg,  On  arriving  just 
opposite  Chester,  when  quietly  marching  along,  the  head  of 
the  column  was  suddenly  fired  into  by  the  enemy  who  had 
possession  of  the  turnpike.  We  (Pickett's  division)  were 
then  formed  in  line  of  battle  and,  sending  forward  our  skir- 
mish line,  commenced  to  advance.  We  drove  the  enemy 
back  to  the  line  of  works  we  had  thrown  up  just  one  month 
before,  they  having  been  vacated  that  morning  by  our  troops, 
who  had  been  moved  to  meet  (jeneral  Grant's  army  at  Peters- 
burg, leaving  only  one  cavalry  regiment,  which  was  unable  to 
hold  the  enemy  in  check.  Night  was  now  coming  on.  We 
halted  at  this  line  of  works.  My  company  was  again  thrown 
forward  as  skirmishers.  We  advanced  about  half-mile  to 
the  front,  halted,  and  established  line  for  the  night.  We  were 
relieved  early  next  morning  by  Company  B  of  our  regiment. 
We  reported  back  to  our  line.  Soon  the  order  came  to  advance. 
General  Pickett  had  determined  to  recapture  a  line  of  works 
which  our  troops  had  thrown  up  further  on,  and  nearer  the 
river.  The  pop,  pop,  of  the  skirmish  line  was  heard.  The 
line  of  battle  now  closed  up  at  a  steady  gait.  Coming  up 
with  our  skirmishers,  we  raised  the  old  Rebel  yell,  and  charged 
the  enemy  in  our  front.  They  couldn't  stand  the  yell,  and 
bullets  proved  too  much  for  them.  They  broke  and  ran  lil^e 
sheep.  With  our  line  closing  up  after  them,  we  soon  had 
possession  of  our  other  line  of  works,  and  the  halt  was  called. 
We  had  many  good  men  killed  and  wounded  in  this  charge. 
Tom  Price  was  lulled  in  this  battle.  Of  the  wounded,  I  re- 
member O.  T.  Wicker,  W.  J.  Nash,  N.  S.  Morton,  and,  I 
think,  O.  F.  East.  It  afterward  appeared  that  General  Lee 
did  not  intend  to  carry  on  the  attack  to  such  an  extent,  and 
sent  his  aides  to  stop  the  charge,  but  they  were  too  late,  the 
charge  had  been  made,  and  the  work  well  done.    However, 


156  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

he  was  satisfied  with  the  result.     He  wrote  the  following 
letter  to  General  Anderson  after  the  charge. 

"General: — I  take  great  pleasure  in  presenting  to  you  my 

congratulations  upon  the  conduct  of  the  men  of  your  corps. 

I  believe  they  will  carry  anything  they  are  put  against.    We 

tried  very  hard  to  stop  Pickett's  men  from  capturing  the 

breastwork  of  the  enemy  but  could  not  do  it.    I  hope  hiF 

loss  has  been  small.  ,r^.       -.v  -d   t^   tt7»i7<   ry  i  ii 

(Signed)  R.  E.  LEE,  General." 

Official:  G.  M.  Serrel,  Lieut.-Colonel,  Acting  Adjutant- 
General. 

On  which  General  Anderson  endorsed: 

"For  Major-General.  Geo.  E.  Pickett,  Commanding  Di- 
vision.'- 

The  Richmond  Examiner,  at  this  time  stated  in  one  of 
its  issues,  that  General  Lee  had  given  orders  for  long-tail 
coats  to  be  issued  Pickett's  men  to  hold  them  back  while 
charging. 

After  getting  in  those  works,  we  moved  up  and  down 
them  for  several  days,  getting  the  brigades  of  divisions  in 
their  positions,  from  right  to  left,  reaching  from  the  Howlett 
House  on  the  James  river,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Appomattox 
river.  Between  these  points  we  now  had  Butler's  force  bottled 
up,  and  General  Lee  meant  to  keep  the  cork  in, — the  cork 
was  our  division  and  pretty  hard  to  move.  We  now  settled 
down  to  prepare  for  the  long  siege. 

There  was  but  little  fighting  along  this  line  during  this 
campaign.  We  did  camp  and  picket  duty  on  the  skirmish 
line  for  some  months.  Winter  was  now  coming  on  and  we 
began  to  build  huts  and  dig  holes  to  protect  us  from  the  cold 
weather.  While  on  parapet  duty  one  day  I  looked  to  my 
right  hand  and  saw  Generals  Lee,  Pickett,  and  Hunton  com- 
ing down  the  line  of  works.  As  they  passed  my  post  I  halted 
and  presented  arms,  they  saluted  and  passed  just  beyond  my 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  157 

post  and  halted.  General  Lee  was  inspecting  our  lines.  At 
this  time  the  Yankee  skirmish  line  was  not  more  than  one 
hundrd  and  fifty  yards  from  where  they  stood.  Of  course, 
our  skirmish  line  was  between  them  and  the  Yankees,  but 
the  Generals  were  in  full  view  of  the  enemy,  and  could  have 
been  easily  killed  by  their  sharp-shooters.  Our  skirmish 
Jjnes  were  so  close  to  each  other  I  could  have  shot  a  gravel 
from  one  to  the  other  without  effort.  In  fact  we  often  ex- 
changed tobacco  for  coffee  with  the  Yanks.  We  would  toss 
to  them  a  piece  of  tobacco  and  they  would  toss  back  a  small 
bag  of  ground  coffee  in  exchange.  General  Lee  remained 
here  for  some  time  examining  the  Yankee  works  through  his 
field  glass.  My  beat  ran  beyond  where  they  were  standing, 
and  in  walking  it,  I  passed  and  repassed  them  many  times. 
Always  on  the  lookout,  I,  of  course,  caught  a  little  of  their 
conversation.  General  Lee  finally  turned  to  General  Pickett 
and  said :  "General,  those  people  are  too  close  to  your  works. 
You  must  move  them."  I  did  not  hear  Pickett's  replj'^,  but 
knew  those  Yanks  had  to  get  further.  After  coming  off  duty 
I  told  the  boys  what  I  had  heard.    They  agreed  with  me. 

We  always  relieved  the  skirmish  line  at  sundown.  A 
few  days  afrer  General  Lee  had  left  the  skirmish  line,  we 
doubled.  We  knew  this  had  its  meaning.  After  getting  on 
the  line  we  were  told  by  the  officer  in  command  that  when 
"taps"  were  sounded  at  the  works,  which  was  always  done  at 
nine  o'clock,  we  should  immediately  leap  the  pits  and  charge 
the  Yankees  in  our  front  without  further  orders.  The  time 
soon  came.  Taps  sounded  and  over  the  pits  we  went.  The 
Yankees  were  more  than  surprised.  They  fired  Jbut  few 
shots  before  we  were  upon  them  and  over  their  pits.  We 
captured  many  of  them  and  advanced  our  line  further  on, 
and  halted  to  dig  the  new  line  of  pits.  The  Yanks  did  not 
like  this  much.  While  we  were  digging  away,  they  threw 
forward  a  new  line  of  battle,  charged  our  skirmishers  and 
drove  them  back  to  the  old  line  of  pits.     Everything  now 


158  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

remained  quiet  for  a  few  days..  Tom  Dowdy  of  my  com- 
pany was  wounded  in  this  charge.  Pickett  was  not  satis- 
fied,— General  Lee's  orders  had  not  been  carried  out.  Prepa- 
rations were  again  made  to  charge  the  line.  This  time  the 
effort  would  be  made  at  daylight,  so  that  we  could  see  what 
we  were  doing.  General  Hunton  came  on  the  line  to  look 
after  the  work,  gave  orders  to  double  the  skirmish  line,  and 
to  charge  just  at  daybreak,  which  we  did,  again  driving  the 
Yanks  out.  and  advancing  our  lines  two  hundred  yards. 
Here  we  dug  new  pits,  and  General  Hunton  threw  forward 
his  line  of  battle  to  protect  us  until  the  work  was  finished. 
The  Yanks,  seeing  the  line  of  battle  in  the  field,  concluded 
to  let  us  remain.  It  was  on  this  new  line,  but  not  at  this 
time,  that  Charlie  Richardson  and  Tom  Weaver  were  killed. 
This  was  our  skirmish  line  so  long  as  we  remained  at  this 
point  Winter  was  now  on  and  wood  v-ery  scarce.  We 
had  used  up  all  between  us  and  the  works.  There  was  a 
small  piece  of  woods  between  our  line  and  the  Yankee  skir- 
mish line.  Both  were  afraid  to  cut  it.  The  weather  began  to 
pinch  us  pretty  tight.  Both  wanted  that  wood,  so  an  agree- 
ment was  made  that  each  side  should  send  out  a  detail  of 
men,  under  guard,  just  before  night,  cut,  and  divide  the 
wood.  I  have  seen  a  Yank  and  a  Reb  cutting  on  the  same 
tree  and  divide  equally.  The  wood  secured  for  the  night, 
each  would  return  to  the  pits,  and  ready  to  fight  again  if 
necessary.  At  this  time  the  pickets  were  not  firing  at 
each  other  at  all,  although  we  were  within  speaking  dis- 
tance. I  have  stated  we  relieved  the  picket  line  at  sundown 
every  day.  The  Yankees  did  the  same.  I  have  seen  the  two 
details  marching  along  their  respective  lines  relieving  the 
men  in  the  pits,  the  lines  being  from  fifty  to  seventy-five 
yards  apart,  and  not  a  shot  fired!  In  fact,  we  got  to  know- 
ing each  other  by  name!  I  have  often  heard  a  Yankee 
calling  out:  "Say,  Johnnie,  is  Captain  Nash  on  duty  this 
morning?"    Everything  worked  like  this  for  a  long  time;  in 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  159 

fact  till  the  Yankees  withdrew  the  whites,  and  put  negro 
troops,  in  our  front.  This  kicked  up  the  devil,  and  the  kill- 
ing of  everything  in  sight  began  again.  There  was  no 
hold  up  now;  the  pop,  pop  of  the  guns  was  heard  day  and 
night.  There  was  no  rest  for  the  negro;  if  he  exposed  any 
part  of  his  body  it  was  immediately  shot  at.  Many  were 
killed  and  wounded,  but  few  of  us  were  hurt.  Bob  Meadows 
and  myself  were  one  day  on  the  right  of  our  line,  sharp - 
shooting,  in  front  of  Stewart's  brigade.  There  were  three 
negroes  in  a  pit,  but  rather  too  far  off  for  Stewart's  boys 
to  do  much  with  them.  Bob  and  I  decided  to  turn  our  at- 
tention to  them;  they  were  about  two  hundred  yards  to  our 
right,  and  in  a  half-moon  pit.  Our  position  gave  us  an  enii- 
lade  fire  along  this  pit,  and  we  arranged  a  small  log  of  wood 
to  prevent  the  Yanks  on  our  left  and  front  from  seeing  us 
Elevating  our  rifle  sights  to  two  hundred  yards,  we  awaited 
our  time,  agreeing  that  he  would  shoot  the  centre  man,  and 
I  the  one  on  the  left  of  the  pit.  We  did  not  wait  long  be- 
fore we  saw  their  heads  coming  up  from  behind  the  pit; 
we  took  deliberate  aim,  and,  at  the  command  from  Lieut. 
Murray,  fired.  At  the  crack  of  our  guns  the  two  fell  back 
dead  on  the  outside  of  the  pit,  and  remained  in  full  view  from 
about  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  until  dark.  The  other 
gentleman  in  that  pit  did  not  show  himself  again  during  that 
day,  though  we  tried  very  hard  to  make  him  do  so,  by  firing 
across  his  pit.  I  suppose  he  thought  two  dead  niggers  in 
one  pit  would  do  for  one  day.  This  firing  was  kept  up  for 
about  three  weeks,  when,  before  day  one  morning,  we  were 
surprised  by  hearing  a  Yankee  calling  out:  "Hello,  Johnnie, 
don't  shoot!  There  are  no  negroes  on  this  side,  this  morn- 
ing." Dougherty,  an  Irishman  belonging  to  our  company, 
replied.  "We  will  wait  until  day  and  see."  Between  day- 
break and  sun-up  we  called  and  asked  them  to  show  up. 
Immediately  three  white  men  to  each  pit  jumped  out  in  full 
view,  not  a  shot  was  fired,  and  quiet  was  restored  along  our 


160  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

whole  front  again.  We  chatted  with  them,  swapped  tobacco  for 
coffee,  exchanged  papers,  and  had  a  good  time  generally. 
During  the  month  of  December  we  were  relieved  and  with- 
drawn from  the  line,  and  marched  to  Richmond,  and  from 
this  point  sent  to  Gordonsville,  to  meet  a  Yankee  raid  on 
that  place.  We  succeeded  in  checking  this,  and  returned  to 
our   lines   again. 

On  the  22nd  of  January,  1865,  our  gunboats 
came  down  the  river  to  the  Howlett  House  battery.  Their 
intention  was  to  shell  Butler's  observatory,  pass  along  down 
the  river  in  the  rear  of  the  Yankee  line,  and  destroy  the 
enemy's  shipping  at  City  Point.  In  the  attempt  to  pass 
the  obstructions  in  our  front,  all,  except  one,  the  "Fredericks- 
burg," ran  aground.  She  succeeded  in  doing  considerable 
damage  to  the  enemy's  vessels.  During  that  night  a  heavy 
demonstration  was  made  by  our  troops,  and  the  next  day  the 
enemy's  monitors  arrived,  and  opened  fire  on  our  iron-clads 
which  were  aground  in  the  river.  A  small  wooden  gunboat, 
the  "Drewry,"  was  blown  up  by  them.  The  firing  was  very 
lively,  the  forts  on  both  sides  taking  a  hand  in  it.  About 
the  middle  of  the  day,  our  boats  succeeded,  without  material 
loss,  in  retiring  to  the  rear  of  Fort  Howlett,  and  at  night 
they  returned  to  Richmond. 

In  this  connection  permit  me  to  narrate  a  little  personal 
experience.  On  the  night  of  the  gunboat  expedition  it  fell 
to  my  lot  to  do  vidette  duty  between  the  lines.  Right  here 
permit  me  to  explain.  In  this  day  none  but  old  soldiers 
would  know  what  a  vidette  was.  In  approaching  our  line 
of  battle,  at  night  from  the  rear,  you  would  first  strike  the 
the  line  of  battle,  then  the  skirmish  line,  next  the  vidette 
post.  The  post  was  next  to,  and  as  close  as  you  could  get  it,  to 
the  enemy's  line.  Thej^  were  thus  placed,  in  order  to  observe 
and  report  any  movement  of  the  enemy.  In  case  of  advance 
on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  their  orders  being  to  fire  and  fall 
back  on  the  skirmish  line,  the  skirmish  line  reserving  their 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  161 

fire  until  the  videttes  were  all  in.  On  this  occasion  I  was 
left  vidette  for  my  line,  with  orders  to  hold  my  post  until 
the  Yankees  advanced,  then  to  fire  and  fall  back.  Those  or- 
ders were  given  me  by  Lieut.  Fitzgerald  of  Company  "I," 
who  was  in  command  of  the  skirmish  line  that  night.  I  had 
been  on  but  a  very  short  while  when  firing  commenced  on 
my  left  next  to  the  ITowlett  House,  nearly  one  mile  away. 
I  paid  no  attention  to  this  at  first,  but  gradually  the  firing 
extended  up  the  line  and  toward  my  position.  Having  or- 
ders not  to  abandon  my  post  unless  the  enemy  advanced,  I  of 
course,  held  my  ground  as  no  enemy  appeared.  Yet  I  knew 
when  the  8th  Virginia  opened  fire  on  my  left,  to  remain  I 
would  be  in  great  danger,  both  from  the  Yankees  and  my  own 
men,  yet  orders  must  be  obeyed  and,  as  there  were  no  Yan- 
kees advancing  on  my  front,  I  held  my  post.  The  boys  in 
my  rear  lost  their  heads,  and,  forgetting  that  I  was  still  in 
their  front,  they  opened  fire.  The  enemy  opened  also,  thus 
placing  me  between  the  fire  of  the  two  lines.  I  placed  my 
gun  on  the  ground  and  laid  down  beside  it,  expecting  that 
one  side  or  the  other  would  soon  kill  me.  I  could  hear  the 
singing  of  the  bullets  from  either  side,  but  was  not  hit.  As 
soon  as  the  fire  slacked,  I  returned  to  the  line  of  skirmishers; 
Lieut.  Fitzgerald  ordered  me  back  to  the  vidette  post;  I 
refused  to  go ;  he  said  he  would  put  me  in  the  guard-house ;  I 
told  him  to  do  so,  and  be  d — d,  as  I  would  no  longer  do 
duty  for  an  officer  who  would  place  a  vidette  on  post  with 
orders  to  hold  the  same  until  the  enemy  advanced,  then  to 
fire  and  fall  back:  and  he,  being  in  a  safe  place,  would  per- 
mit his  line  to  open  on  the  enemy,  with  that  vidette  still  in 
front.  I  jumped  in  a  pit,  and  Fitzgerald  did  not  arrest  me, 
nor  did  I  go  on  vidette  duty  again  that  night.  I  had  fully 
made  up  my  mind  never  again  to  serve  as  vidette  with  Lieut. 
Fitzgerald  in  command  of  the  line,  and  I  never  did. 

After   the   white   troops   were   put   back   in   our   front, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  skirmishes  in  which  we  partici- 


162  Hutory  of  Prince  Edward  County 

pated,  we  had  a  quiet  time  on  the  skirmish  line.  Drilling, 
guard  and  picket  duty,  and  working  on  the  fortifications, 
were  our  principal  occupations.  The  men  had  now  learned 
the  value  of  being  protected  by  the  shelter  of  earthworks, 
and  they  did  a  big  lot  of  that  kind  of  work. 

On  March  5th,  our  (Pickett's)  division  was  relieved  by 
Mahone's  division,  and  put  in  the  field  for  active  duty.  Now 
our  troubles  began  again.  We  marched  out  and  halted  near 
the  turnpike,  within  two  miles  of  Chester  station.  While  in 
camp  without  any  shelter,  a  cold  rain  set  in  and  continued 
for  two  days.  On  the  8th  General  Pickett  held  a  grand 
review  of  his  division.  On  the  10th  Stewart's  and  our  (Hun- 
ton's)  brigade  marched  to  Manchester,  where  we  got  aboard 
the  cars,  (old  freight  cars)  on  the  Richmond  and  Danville 
railroad  and  came  to  Burkeville.  Here  our  trains,  in 
three  sections,  were  transferred  to  the  tracks  of  the 
South  Side  railroad,  now  a  part  of  the  Norfolk  and  Western 
system,  and  started  for  I^ynchburg.  We  of  course  passed 
through  old  Farm vi lie.  On  reaching  here  all  the  people 
turned  out  and  gave  us  all  we  could  eat  and  drink,  the  boys 
got  "how  come  you  so"  in  a  hurry,  but  we  soon  were  off  again. 
On  arriving  at  Pamplin  City  we  learned  that  Stewart's  bri- 
gade had  stopped  off  at  Farmville  and  gone  into  camp.  We 
were  taken  off  at  Pamplin's  and  camped  in  a  piece  of  woods 
just  to  the  right  of  where  the  pipe  factory  at  that  place  now 
stands.  We  now  heard  that  the  object  of  our  move  was  to 
assist  General  Early  in  heading  off,  and  thrashing,  General 
Hunter,  who  was  making  an  effort  to  capture  Lynchburg. 
The  old  General  had  gotten  afoul  of  him  that  morning, 
cleaned  him  up,  and  was  now  in  hot  pursuit  of  him  down 
the  valley,  and  did  not  need  us.  We  took  the  cars  again  the 
next  morning  and,  headed  again  for  Richmond,  passed 
through  FarmviUe  but  did  not  stop.  Arriving  at  High 
Bridge  we  stopped,  got  off,  and  went  into  camp  near  the 
dwelling  of  Mr.  Madison;  the  place  is  now  owned  by  our 
townsman,  C.  W.  Blanton. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  163 

Soon  after  getting  into  camp,  a  lot  of  us  came  back  to 
old  Farmville,  and  were  painting  the  old  burg  red.  About 
one  o'clock  we  were  passing  the  Kandolph  Hotel  where  Gen- 
eral Pickett  had  his  headquarters,  when  Charlie  Pickett  our 
Adjutant  General,  called,  and  informed  us  that  marching 
orders  had  come,  and  we  must  get  back  to  the  bridge  as  soon 
as  possible,  or  we  would  be  left  behind.  We  now  struck  back 
to  the  railroad  and  counted  sills  at  the  double-quick.  We  ar- 
rived on  time,  the  boys  were  all  on  the  cars,  and  only  await- 
ing orders  to  steam  out.  It  soon  came  and  we  were  off  for 
Richmond,  where  we  arrived  on  the  morning  of  the  14th. 
We  started  about  12  o'clock  and  marched  within  four  miles 
of  Ashland,  where  we  halted  in  line  of  battle.  General 
TiOngstreet  was  in  command  of  the  force  of  which  our  di- 
vision was  the  main  part.  On  the  next  day,  the  15th  Vir- 
ginia, had  a  sharp  skirmish  with  Sheridan's  cavalry  at  Ash- 
land. At  night  we  were  changing  our  position,  moving  to- 
ward the  right,  halting  now  and  then  expecting  an  attack, 
but  none  came.  The  next  day  we  reached  the  Pamunkey 
river  and  built  a  bridge.  Here  our  pursuit  after  the  enemy's 
cavalry  stopped,  as  they  had  disappeared  from  our  front. 
We  now  returned  to  the  lines  near  the  Nine-Mile  road. 

On  the  23rd  there  was  another  grand  review  of  our 
division  by  General  Longstreet.  On  the  25th,  Terry's, 
Stewart's,  and  Corse's  brigades  of  our  divison,  were  ordered 
to  Richmond,  thence  to  the  right  of  General  Lee's  army  at 
Five  Forks.  Why  we  left  I  can't  sa3^  We  did  not  move 
until  the  morning  of  the  30th,  when  orders  came  for  us  to 
march.  We  moved  to  Richmond  and  took  cars  for  Peters- 
burg. We  left  the  cars  a  few  miles  before  reaching  that 
city,  and  marched  across  to  the  South  Side  railroad.  On 
reaching  this  point,  our  column  was  turned  to  the  right,  and 
marched  up  the  roadbed  for  several  miles,  when  we  turned  to 
the  left,  crossed  Hatcher's  Run  on  a  bridge  of  loose  logs 
near  an  old  mill.     Here  we  again  filed  to  the  right,  and  were 


164  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

soon  in  line  of  battle  behind  breastworks  which  had  been 
thrown  up  before  our  arrival.  It  had  been  raining  very  hard 
all  day,  and  we  were  wet  to  the*  skin,  hungry,  and  muddy. 
We  remained  behind  these  works  all  night  with  skirmishers 
out  to  the  front,  and  orders  were  to  sleep  (if  we  could)  with 
guns  in  hand,  as  the  enemy  might  attack  our  position  at 
any  minute.  The  night  passed  without  any  advance  ,on; 
the  part  of  the  Yanks. 

The  next  morning,  31st,  we  were  formed  behind  the  works 
and  orders  came  to  right  face,  counter  march,  by  file  right. 
We  marched  down  the  works  for  half-mile,  when  we  filed 
to  the  right,  and  passed  to  the  front,  forming  line  of  battle 
along  the  White  Oak  Swamp  (I  think  it  was).  Here  we 
found  some  Georgia  troops  deployed  as  skirmishers  to  our 
front,  in  an  open  field.  Everything  being  so  quiet  some  of 
us  took  off  our  shoes,  and  began  bathing  our  feet  in  the 
puddles  of  water  left  by  the  hard  rain  of  the  day  before,  and, 
while  engaged  in  this,  the  pop,  pop  of  the  guns  of  the  skir- 
mish line  in  our  front  was  heard.  You  bet  those  shoes  went 
on  our  feet  quick,  and  the  boys  were  in  line,  ready  to  meet  the 
attack.  The  Yanks  came  charging  over  the  hill  and  closed 
on  our  skirmish  line  in  a  hurry.  A  Lieut,  of  the  8th  Vir- 
ginia regiment,  seeing  the  danger  to  the  line  in  front,  called 
out  in  a  loud  voice:  "Boys,  they  will  capture  our  skirmish- 
ers; charge  them."  Without  further  orders,  the  boys  raised 
the  old  yell,  and  at  them  we  went  on  the  run,  with  guns  at 
the  trail.  Nearing  them  we  opened  fire,  but  continued  to 
advance.  The  boys  in  blue  stood  it  for  a  while,  but,  finding 
that  we  were  closing  in  for  a  hand-to-hand  fight,  they  broke 
and  ran,  we  at  their  heels  yelling  like  devils,  and  burning 
powder  for  all  we  were  worth.  Running  them  into  a  large 
body  of  woods,  we  found  another  line  formed  to  meet  us. 
We  did  not  stop,  but  charged  into,  and  broke  this  line  also,  and 
continued  to  advance.  About  a  quarter-mile  from  this  point 
we  discovered  their  third  line.    By  this  time  we  )vere  all 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  165 

broke  up,  and  orders  came  to  halt  and  reform  the  line,  which 
we  did  in  a  few  minutes  although  under  fire.  Orders  now 
came  to  charge  the  third  line,  which  we  did  in  fine  style, 
breaking  it  up  in  short  order.  We  now  had  three  lines  of 
battle  of  the  enemy,  running  in  our  front,  we  following  on 
the  run,  yelling,  shooting  and  killing  all  we  could.  This 
was  all  very  nice,  and  we  enjoyed  it,  but  the  Yank's  time 
was  now  to  come.  We  succeeded  in  driving  them  back  nearly 
to  the  Jerusalem  plank  road,  our  ranks  growing  weaker  and 
thinner  at  every  step.  The  enemy  had  massed  a  very  heavy 
force  along  the  Plank  road  and  put  a  stop  to  our  advance. 
On  nearing  this  position  we  were  halted  and  ordered  to  re- 
form line,  but  our  boys,  having  already  broken  three  lines  of 
battle,  were  very  much  scattered,  and  before  we  could  line 
them  up,  the  Yanks  charged.  It  was  impossible  in  our  con- 
dition, to  successfully  resist  this  counter-charge,  and  the  boys 
began  to  fall  back;  slowly  at  first.  The  Yanks,  seeing  how 
few  we  were,  began  to  crowd  us,  and  we  broke  into  a  run,  and 
made  back  to  our  starting-point,  and,  this  being  the  Yanks' 
time,  they  gave  us  "hail  Columbia"  before  we  reached  the 
White  Oak  Swamp  Road;  but  here  we  halted  and  stood  at 
bay; — they  could  drive  us  no  further!  Right  here  the  heavy 
fighting  done  at  Hatcher's  Run  ended;  about  dark  we  with- 
drew and  fell  back  again  behind  our  works.  In  this  charge 
my  company  had  killed:  Elam,  Boatwright,  Harvey,  Jack- 
son, and  Dougherty;  wounded:  Stratton,  and  Tompkins; 
captured:  Harrison  Walthall.  A  sad  day's  work  for  old 
Co.  F:  five  killed,  two  wounded,  and  one  captured.  Elam 
was  a  brother  of  our  townsman  D.  T.  Elam. 

There  was  no  better  soldier  than  Bob  Elam.  I  have 
often  heard  him  say,  if  the  Confederacy  must  fail,  he  wanted 
to  die  in  the  last  fight.     The  noble  boy  nearly  got  his  wish. 

There  were  but  few  fights  after  Hatcher's  Run,  31st  day 
of  March.  Soon  after  getting  behind  the  works  that  night, 
C^ol.  Carrington,  who  was  in  command  of  my  regiment,  sent 


166  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

for  me,  and  I  reported  immediately.  He  informed  me  that 
all  his  staff  had  been  killed  or  captured  in  our  charge,  and  I 
must  remain  with  him  to  carry  orders.  I  placed  two  rails 
on  the  works,  over  which  I  stretched  an  oil-cloth,  and  then 
placed  our  blankets  under  them,  and  I  laid  down  to  rest. 
We  had  been  fighting  all  day  without  one  mouthful  to  eat, 
and  now,  the  fighting  over,  we  had  not  even  one  cracker  to 
appease  our  hunger.  We  did  not  mind  this  much  as  we 
had  become  accustomed  to  it.  We  only  drew  the  cartridge 
box  belt  the  tighter  and  kept  going.  It  was  raining,  and 
the  night  was  very  dark.  Soon  after  we  had  stretched  out 
to  rest,  we  heard  an  orderly  enquiring  for  Col.  Carrington. 
1  called  him,  and  found  he  was  one  of  General  Hunton's 
orderlies.  He  gave  Col.  Carrington  some  orders  from  Gen- 
eral Hunton  for  the  officer  in  charge  of  our  skirmish  line. 
The  Colonel  said  to  me:  "Sam,  you  have  heard  the  orders, 
go  out  to  the  line  and  deliver  them  to  Lieut.  ^Murray  who  is 
in  command."  Our  line  was  about  250  yards  in  our  front, 
and  in  a  body  of  woods.  The  woods  in  front  of  our  works, 
for  a  distance  of  two  hundred  yards,  had  been  cut  down, 
lapped  and  interlapped,  until  a  rabbit  could  scarcely  get 
through  it.  Now  you  can  imagine  what  a  time  I  must  have 
had  in  going  to  the  front  in  such  darkness.  I  mounted  the 
works  and  struck  out  the  best  I  could,  stumbling  here,  fall- 
ing there,  and  sometimes  walking  upright,  then  on  hand  and 
knees,  I  finally  worked  my  way  to  the  edge  of  the  woods  in 
which  our  line  was  posted.  I  now  thought  my  trouble  was 
over,  but  not  so;  the  Yanks  got  it  into  their  heads  to  advance 
and  drive  out  our  boys,  and  the  pop,  pop,  of  the  guns  soon 
began  again.  I  could  hear  the  zip,  zip,  of  the  bullets,  as 
they  passed  right  and  left,  and  I  got  behind  a  tree  and  awaited 
results.  The  Yanks  soon  found  out  that  our  boys  were  there 
to  stay,  and  after  firing  a  few  rounds  they  fell  back.  I 
now  advanced  toward  our  line,  and  it  was  so  dark  I  could 
not  see  a   man.    The  men  being  deployed,  I  passed  them 


History  of  Pmnce  Edward  County  167 

without  knowing  it,  and  was  on  my  way  to  join  the  Yankees, 
when  I  heard  someone  say  in  very  low  tone:  "Halt!  Who 
goes  there?"  I  recognized  the  voice  of  Sam  Moore,  a  mem- 
ber of  B  Company,  and  a  most  excellent  soldier.  I  told  who 
I  was,  and  he  said:  "You  spoke  in  time;  I  was  about  to 
pull  down  on  you."  I  asked  him  where  Lieut.  Murray  was. 
"Gone  to  the  left,"  was  his  reply,  so  I  went  to  the  left  too, 
and  soon  found  Murray,  and  gave  him  the  orders,  and  started 
on  my  way  back  to  the  works.  Somehow  I  got  completely 
turned  around  in  those  woods,  and  when  I  reached  the  cut 
down  timber  I  was  lost  good.  But  I  knew  our  works  were 
in  the  direction  I  was  going,  so  kept  steadily  on  and  finally 
reached  them  fully  one  mile  below  our  regiment.  I  was 
now  among  some  Georgia  troops,  who  told  me  that  my  bri- 
gade was  on  their  left  higher  up.  I  got  on  top  of  the  w^orks 
and  found  them  again.  On  reaching  the  Colonel  he  said: 
"Sam,  where  have,  you  beenT'  I  replied:  "Lost,  but  Mur- 
ray has  his  orders."  This  satisfied  him  and  we  went  to 
sleep.     No  more  orders  that  night,  except  to  sleep  on  arms. 

April  1st,  about  day,  orders  came  to  march  by  the  right 
flank,  and  we  marched  in  the  road,  through  fields,  in  the 
woods,  taking  all  the  near  cuts,  in  order  to  get  to,  and  rein- 
force, the  other  three  brigades  of  otir  division,  who  had  been 
cut  to  pieces  the  day  before  by  Sheridan's  cavalry  and  War- 
ren's corps,  at  Five  Forks.  We  joined  them  about  dark,  but 
found  them  falling  back  slowly,  before  five  times  their  num- 
ber. About  nine  o'clock  we  halted,  formed  line  of  battle 
to  fight  again,  but  the  Yanks  thought  better  of  it,  and  did 
not  attack.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  2nd  we  began  to 
fall  back  again,  crossing  the  South  Side  railroad  at  Church 
Koads,  just  above  Petersburg,  and  continuing  the  march, 
halted  near  Exiter  Mills,  on  the  Appomattox  river,  having 
marched  about  twelve  miles  that  day.  But  there  was  no 
rest  for  the  weary  and  hungry !  We  were  soon  on  the  march 
again.     The   division,   now   about   2,200   strong,  moved   to 


168  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Deep  Creek,  which  we  reached  that  night.  Here  we  put  up 
a  pretty  little  fight,  stopped  the  enemy's  advance,  then  con- 
tinued the  retreat,  without  rations. 

Constant  marching  and  fighting  without  food,  shelter, 
or  sleep,  began  now  to  tell  seriously  on  that  grand  old  di- 
vision. The  boys  were  worn  almost  to  a  frazzle,  but  with  a 
determination  to  do  or  die,  they  held  the  Yanks^  Now  and 
then  we  would  pass  a  poor  fellow  who  could  hold  out  no 
longer,  and  had  dropped  by  the  roadside,  to  be  picked  up 
by  the  Yankee  cavalry,  who  were  constantly  pressing  our 
rear.  With  cheerful  and  loving  words  we  would  pass  our 
dear  comrade  by,  telling  him  to  make  one  more  effort  and 
come  if  he  could.  When  the  lines  were  broken  near  Peters- 
burg, our  division,  with  some  other  troops,  were  cut  off  from 
our  main  army.  Sheridan  put  his  whole  corps  of  cavalry 
after  those  few  men  and  tried  to  capture  them  before  they 
could  rejoin  Lee.  Sometimes  he  would  attack  our  front: 
sometimes  our  rear.  He  hung  a  snag.  We  whipped  him 
every  time,  and  succeeded  in  rejoining  General  Lee  at  Amelia 
Courthouse,  at  which  point  General  Lee  had  ordered  rations 
for  his  army.  None  had  been  sent,  consequently  the  army 
moved  off  again  without  rations.  This  was  very  hard  to 
bear,  but  there  was  no  grumbling  among  that  noble  band  of 
men.  They  knew  it  was  no  fault  of  General  Lee's  and  you 
could  hear  them  say:  "We  will  follow  Marse  Robert  to  the 
end,  I  will  be  the  last  spoke  in  the  hub  when  the  wheel  fails 
to  turn." 

From  Amelia  Courthouse  our  division  headed  for 
Painsville,  marched  in  that  direction  about  two  miles,  when 
we  counter  marched  by  file  left,  came  back  to  the  Richmond  and 
Danville  railroad,  up  which  we  marched  for  several  miles, 
then  struck  off  to  the  right,  and  passed  through  Deatonsville, 
and  reached  Sailor  Creek  during  the  morning  of  6th  of 
April.  Somewhere  along  the  line  of  march.  Colonel  Car- 
rington  sat  in  a  corn-house  door  and  gave  each  man  as  he 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  169 

passed  three  ears  of  corn,  which  he  said  was  for  three  days 
rations.  The  head  of  our  brigade  had  halted  near  Sailor 
Creek,  and  this  placed  our  regiment  in  the  road  opposite 
Capt.  Hillsman's  dwelling.  I  got  in  his  yard,  kindled  a  fire, 
and  with  a  half  of  a  canteen  was  parching  some  of  my  com. 
While  doing  this  William  Wilkerson,  who  now  lives  with  me 
in  my  factory,  came  to  me.  He  belonged  to  the  19th  Va., 
Regt.  We  were  discussing  the  question  of  coming  by  home, 
when  I  happened  to  look  over  to  the  left  and  discovered  a 
Yankee  cavalry  crossing  an  open  field  and  passing  rapidly  to 
our  front.  I  called  his  attention  to  them  and  he  said  they 
were  not  Yankees.  I  told  him  they  were,  and  that  I  would 
know  that  flag  if  I  saw  in  it  perdition.  General  Pickett 
was  sitting  on  his  horse  nearby.  I  called  his  attention  to 
them  and  he  immediately  gave  orders  for  us  to  cross  the 
creek.  We  did  so,  and  marched  about  100  yards  up  the  road, 
filed  right  and  formed  line  of  battle  along  the  edge  of  a  piece 
of  pines.  In  our  front  was  an  open  field  about  seventy-five 
yards  across,  then  came  a  body  of  oak  woods.  We  had  been 
lined  up  but  a  few  minutes,  when  the  Yankees  lined  up 
along  the  edge  of  the  oak  woods.  They  were  mounted,  and 
we  did  not  wait  for  ^ny  orders,  but  gave  them  a  solid  volley 
of  musketry,  and  charged  across  the  field.  They  gave  way  and 
we  continued  to  follow,  yelling  and  shooting.  I  had  gotten 
about  25  yards  into 'the  woods,  standing  loading  my  gun, 
when  a  shell  exploded  very  near  me,  a  piece  of  which  passed 
through  one  of  my  limbs,  giving  me  a  serious  wound,  which 
kept  me  on  crutches  for  seven  months  after  the  war  closed. 
I  was  placed  on  a  stretcher  and  taken  to  the  rear,  where  Dr. 
Berkeley  dressed  my  wound,  and  sent  me  over  the  creek  to  a 
spring.  I  was  not  here  long  before  the  Yankee  Infantry  in 
line  of  battle,  came  up.    I  was  of  course  made  a  prisoner. 

I  knew  it  was  getting  serious  for  our  boys  now.  With 
infantry  in  our  rear,  and  on  both  flanks,  and  their  cavalry  in 
our  front,  it  would  be  a  hard  matter  to  hold  our  own  against 


170  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

such  odds.  The  boys  would  not  yet  give  up;  they  formed 
hollow  square,  and  continued  the  fight  until  late  in  the  after- 
noon, and  were  forced  to  surrender.  I  have  heard  that  we 
had  about  12,000  men  in  this  fight,  against  52,000  of  the 
enemy,  yet  we  held  our  ground  for  five  hours!  Could  men 
do  more? 

It  were  enough  honor  to  have  shared  the  fortunes  of 
any  of  those  regiments.  During  the  night  I  wag  taken  up 
by  the  enemy  and  carried  to  Capt.  Hillsman's  yard,  which 
was  full  of  wounded  Yanks  and  Rebs.  Many  died  during 
the  night.  I  was  very  weak  from  loss  of  blood  and  thought 
many  times  that  night,  while  hearing  the  constant  cry  of  the 
wounded,  and  the  last  gasp  of  the  dying,  that  I  too,  would 
soon  be  marching  in  the  silent  army,  but  the  good  Lord  ruled 
otherwise,  and  I  am  here  to-day  to  recount  to  you  those 
scenes  of  long  ago. 

The  next  morning  a  Yankee  Sergeant,  who  had  been 
left  in  charge  of  us,  drove  a  cow  in  the  yard  and  shot  her 
for  those  hungry,  wounded  men.  After  skinning  her,  he 
would  cut  a  big  chunk  of  the  flesh,  with  the  blood  dripping 
from  it,  hand  it  to  the  boys,  who,  like  dogs,  ate  it  raw.  I 
^ery  well  remember  I  thought  it  the  sweetest  piece  of  meat 
I   ever   ate. 

On  the  9th  a  Federal  surgeon  came  along  with  a  lot 
of  ambulances,  examined,  and  dressed  the  wounds,  put  the 
boys  in  the  ambulances,  and  sent  them  on  to  prison.  When 
he  got  to  me,  he  examined  my  wound  very  carefully,  and 
said:  "Johnny,  you  are  very  badly  shot,  and,  if  I  start  you 
back,  you  will  die  between  here  and  Burkeville."  I  said: 
"Doctor,  let  me  die  here;  I  will  die  that  much  nearer  home." 
He  asked  me  where  my  home  was,  and  I  told  him,  Farm- 
ville.  He  soon  left  with  his  ambulance  train,  leaving  me 
alone  in  Hillsman's  yard.  I  now  made  up  my  mind  to  get 
to  Mr.  Creed  Farley's  if  possible,  and  in  this  I  succeeded, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  171 

and  was  never  better  treated  or  looked  after  in  my  life. 
While  going  over  to  Mr.  Farley's  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
run  across  a  Yankee  soldier,  William  Ferris,  by  liame.  He 
was  from  New  York  city,  and  belonged  to  the  6th  army 
corps.  He  was  a  man  with  a  big  heart;  and,  had  I  been 
his  brother,  he  could  not  have  done  more  for  me.  He 
dressed  my  wound  twice  regularly  every  day,  and  remained 
with  me  imtil  I  came  home.  We  corresponded  for  a  num- 
ber of  years  after  the  war.  I  wrote  him  last  at  St.  Louis, 
Mo.,  but  he  has  never  replied,  and  I  fear  he  has  answered 
his  last  roll-call  and  is  now  marching  with  the  silent  army. 
He  it  was  who  first  informed  me  of  General  Lee's  surrender, 
and  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln. 

On  the  27th,  it  having  been  twenty-one  days  since  I  was 
shot,  the  Federals  sent  an  ambulance  from  Farm vi lie  for 
me.  I  bid  my  good  friends,  the  Farley's  and  Ferris,  good- 
bye, and  started  for  home  with  brother  Henry,  who  had  come 
down  with  the  ambulance  for  me.  On  our  way,  arriving  at 
Mr.  Walthall's,  we  found  Miss  Sallie  Keives,  who  afterwards 
married  Mr.  William  Daniel,  and  who  now  lives  a  few  miles 
from  towi^.  She  wished  to  return  to  her  home  in  Farmville 
with  us,  and  we  gladlj'^  consented,  and  had  the  pleasure  of 
her  most  excellent  company  from  there  home.  We  left  her 
at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Joe  Wiliams,  who  was  her  step- 
father, and  drove  to  my  own  home,  where  there  was  great 
rejoicing  over  the  return  of  the  young,  wounded  soldier. 

That  night  I  had  a  fall  from  our  front  porch  which 
came  very  near  terminating  my  life.  My  wound  was  nil  torn 
open  again,  and  it  was  thought  I  would  bleed  to  death,  but, 
as  heretofore,  I  managed  to  pull  through,  and,  as  many  of 
my  friends  will  admit,  am  here  yet,  and  hope  to  remain  for 
many  moors  to  come. 

As  before  stated,  I  was  shot  and  captured  on  the  6th  of 
April,  at  Sailor  Creek,  about  twelve  miles  below  Farmville, 


172  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


and  left  on  the  battle  field,  where,  what  was  left  of  our 
division,  stood  as  a  forlorn  hope  to  save  Lee's  wagon  trains, 
and  those  who  did  their  duty  on  that  day,  were  either  killed, 
wounded,  or  captured,  almost  to  a  man.  Here  my  own  ex- 
perience as  a  soldier  of  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia, 
ended.  I  can  now  only  state  what  others  have  said  as  to  the 
final  march,  and  end,  of  that  noble  army. 

From  Sailor  Oeek,  General  Lee  continued  his  retreat  in 
the  direction  of  Lynchburg,  passing  through  Farmville.  He 
pressed  on  as  fast  as  the  condition  of  his  men  would  permit, 
fighting  every  inch  of  ground,  until  he  reached  Appomat- 
tox Court-house.  Here  he  found  himself,  and  his  little  army, 
surrounded  hy  Grant  and  his  vast  host.  Up  to  this  point 
he  had  managed  to  check  their  pursuit  from  time  to  time, 
and  to  continue  his  retreat.  On  the  Tth  of  April,  General 
Grant  sent  the  following  communication  to  General  Lee. 

(jeneral:  The  result  of  the  last  week  must  convince  you 
of  the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
army  of  Northern  Virginia,  in  this  struggle.  I  feel  that  it 
is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my  duty  to  shift  from  myself  the  re- 
sponsibility of  any  further  effusion  of  blood,  by  asking  of  you 
the  surrender  of  that  portion  of  the  Confederate  States  army 
known  as  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia. 

U.  S.  GRANT. 
Lieutenant  General, 

General  Lee  did  not  think  as  General  Grant  did.  He 
replied  on  the  same  day,  April  Tth,  as  follows: 

General:  I  have  received  your  note  of  this  date. 
Though  not  entertaining  the  opinion  you  express  on  the  hope- 
lessness of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  army  of 
Northern  Virginia,  I  reciprocate  your  desire  to  avoid  the 
useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  therefore,  before  considering 
your  proposition,  ask  the  term  you  will  offer  on  condition 
of  its  surrender.  R.  E.  LEE, 

General, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  173 

Grerieral  Fitz.  Lee  says  the  next  communication  from 
General  Grant  was  received  by  General  Lee  "at  a  large 
white  farm-house  at  Curdsville."  It  would  be  interesting  to 
know  who  resided  at  that  "white  farm-house"  then,  and  who 
occupies  it  now.  I  trust  some  old  resident  of  Curdsville  will 
give  the  information.     The  two  notes  read  as  follows: 

April   8,   1865. 
General :     Your  note  of  last  evening,  in  reply  to  mine  of 
the  same  date,  asldng  the  condition  on  which  I  will  accept 
the   surrender  of  the   army   of   Northern   Virginia,   is   just 
received. 

In  reply,  I  would  say  that,  peace  being  my  great  desire, 
there  is  but  one  condition  that  I  would  insist  upon,  namely, 
that  the  men  and  officers  surrendered,  shall  be  disqualified  for 
taking  up  arms  again  against  the  government  of  the  United 
States  until  properly  exchanged.  I  will  meet  you,  or  will 
designate  officers  to  meet  any  officers  you  may  name  for 
the  same  purpose,  at  any  time  agreeable  to  you,  for  the 
purpose  of  arranging  definitely  the  term  upon  which  the 
surrender  of  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia  will  be  re- 
ceived. U.  S.  GRANT, 

Lieutenant  General, 

To  which  General  Lee  replied: 

April  8,  1865. 

General:  I  received  at  a  late  hour  your  note  of  to-day. 
In  mine  yesterday  I  did  not  intend  to  propose  the  surrender 
of  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia,  but  to  ask  the  terms  of 
your  proposition.  To  be  frank,  I  do  not  think  the  emergency 
has  arisen  to  call  for  the  surrender  of  this  army,  but  as  the 
restoration  of  peace  should  be  the  sole  object  of  all,  I  desire 
to  know  whether  your  proposal  would  lead  to  that  end.  I 
cannot  therefore  meet  you  with  a  view  to  surrender  the  army 
of  Northern  Virginia,  but  as  far  as  your  proposal  may  affect 
the  Confederate  States  forces  under  my  command,  and  tend 


174  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

to  the  restoration  of  peace,  I  shall  be  pleased  to  meet  you 
at  10  a.  m.,  tomorrow,  on  the  old  stage  road  to  Kichmond, 
between  the  picket  lines  of  the  two  armies. 

R.  E.  LP]E, 

General, 

On  the  next  morning  General  Grant  dispatched  another 
note  to  General  Lee,  as  follows: 

April  9,  1865. 
General:  Your  note  of  yesterday  is  received.  I  have  no 
authority  to  treat  on  the  subject  of  peace.  I  will  state, 
however,  General,  I  am  equally  anxious  for  peace  with  your- 
self, and  the  whole  north  entertains  the  same  feeling.  The 
terms  upon  which  peace  can  be  had  are  well  understood.  By 
the  South  laying  down  their  arms  they  will  hasten  that 
most  desirable  event,  save  thousands  of  human  lives,  and  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  property  not  yet  destroyed.  Seriously 
hoping  that  all  our  difficulties  may  be  settled  without  the 
loss  of  another  life,  I  subscribe  myself,  etc. 

U.  S.  GRAXT, 
Lieutenant  General, 

General  Humphrey  sent  this  note  forward  by  Colonel 
Whittier,  bis  Adjutant  General,  who  met  Colonel  Marshall, 
of  Lee's  staff,  by  whom  he  was  conducted  to  the  general.  To 
this  note  Lee  replied: 

April  9,  1865. 
General:  I  received  your  note  of  this  morning  on  the 
picket  line  whither  I  had  come  to  meet  you  and  ascertain 
definitely  what  terms  were  embraced  in  your  proposal  of 
yesterday,  with  reference  to  the  surrender  of  the  army.  I 
now  ask  an  interview  in  accordance  with  the  offer  contained 
in  your  letter  of  yesterday  for  that  purpose. 

A.  E.  LEE, 

General, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  175 

Grant,  who  received  this  note  eight  or  nine  miles  from 
Appomattox,  at  once  answered  it. 

April  9,  1865. 
General  K.  E.  I^e,  Commanding  C.  S.  A.: 

Your  note  of  this  date  is  but  this  moment  (11:50  a.  m.) 
received.  In  consequence  of  my  having  passed  from  the  Rich- 
mond and  Lynchburg  road  to  the  Farmville  and  Lynch- 
burg road,  I  am,  at  this  writing  about  four  miles  west  of 
Walker's  church,  and  I  will  push  forward  to  tlie  front 
for  the  purpose  of  meeting  you.  Notice  sent  to  me  on  this 
road  when  you  wish  the  interview  to  take  place,  will  meet 

Very  respectfully, 
your  obedient  servant, 

U.  S.  GRxVNT, 
Lieutenant  General, 

General  Fitz.  Lee  says  this  reply  was  sent  direct  to  Gen- 
eral Lee  by  Colonel  Babcock.  Our  noble  old  leader  was 
obliged  to  confront  a  painful  issue.  His  duty  had  been  per- 
formed, but  so  earnest  was  he  in  trying  to  extricate  his  troops, 
and  carry  tliem  south,  that  he  failed  to  recognize  the  hope- 
lessness of  further  resistance,  or  the  emergency  that  called 
for  the  surrender  of  his  army.  At  the  suggestion  of  some  of 
his  higher  officers,  General  Pendleton,  the  commander  of  his 
reserve  artillery,  went  to  Lee  on  the  7th  to  say  that  their 
united  judgment  agreed  that  it  was  wrong  to  have  more  men 
on  either  side  killed,  and  that  they  did  not  wish  that  he 
should  bear  the  entire  trial  of  reaching  that  conclusion.  But 
Lee  replied,  that  he  had  too  many  brave  men,  to  think  of 
laying  down  his  arms,  and  that  they  still  fought  with  great 
spirit;  that  if  he  should  first  intimate  to  Grant  that  he  would 
listen  to  terms,  an  unconditional  surrender  might  be  de- 
manded, and  "sooner  than  that  I  am  resolved  to  die."  General 
Lee  had  not  altogether  abandoned  the  purpose  to  march  south, 


176  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

even  after  the  notes  of  the  7th  and  8th  had  been  exchanged. 
Longstreet,  Gordon,  and  Fitz.  Lee,  commanding  his  corps, 
were  summoned  to  headquarters  on  the  night  of  the  8th,  near 
Appomattox  Courthouse.  The  situation  was  explained  free- 
ly, and  the  correspondence  with  Grant  alluded  to,  yet  "Marse 
Robert"  was  not  ready,  without  one  more  effort,  to  surren- 
der those  noble  boys  who  had  served  him  so  faithfully. 

So  it  was  decided  that  Gordon  and  Fitz.  Lee  should 
attack  Sheridan's  cavalry  at  daylight  on  the  9th,  and  open 
a  way;  but  in  case  the  cavalry  was  reinforced  by  heavy 
bodies  of  infantry,  the  commanding  general  must  be  at  once 
notified,  as  surrender  was  inevitable.  The  attack  was  made 
at  sunrise,  and  the  Federal  cavalry  driven  back  with  the  loss 
of  two  guns,  and  a  number  of  prisoners.  The  arrival  at  this 
time  of  two  corps  of  Federal  infantry,  necessitated  the  re- 
tirement of  the  southern  lines.  General  Ord,  who  commanded 
one  of  the  corps  of  Federal  infantry,  states  that  he  was 
"barely  in  time,  for,  in  spite  of  General  Sheridan's  attempts, 
the  cavalry  was  falling  back  in  confusion."  The  die  was 
cast ;  the  last  gun  fired ;  and  a  white  flag  went  out  from  the 
Southern  ranks;  the  war  in  Virginia  was  over! 

Colonel  Babcock,  the  bearer  of  General  Grant's  last  note, 
found  General  Lee  near  Appomattox  Courthouse  lying  un- 
der an  apple  tree  upon  a  blanket  spread  upon  some  rails; 
from  which  circumstance  the  widespread  report  originated 
that  the  surrender  took  place  under  an  apple  tree. 

General  Lee,  Colonel  Marshall  of  his  staff;  Colonel  Bab- 
cock of  General  Grant's  staff,  and  a  mounted  orderly,  rode 
to  the  village,  and  found  Mr.  Wilmer  McLean,  a  resident, 
who,  upon  being  told  that  General  Lee  wanted  the  use  of  a 
room  in  some  house,  conducted  the  party  to  his  dwelling. 
General  Lee  was  ushered  into  a  room  on  the  left  of  the  hall, 
and,  about  one  o'clock,  was  joined  by  General  Grant,  his  staff, 
and  Generals  Sheridan  and  Ord.  Grant  sat  at  a  marble-topped 
table  in  the  centre  of  the  room;  Lee  at  a  small  oval  table 


HUtory  of  Prince  Edward  County  177 

near  the  front  window.  Grenerals  Lee  and  Grant  had  met 
once,  eighteen  years  before,  when  both  were  fighting  for  the 
same  cause  in  Mexico.  After  a  pleasant  reference  to  that 
event,  Lee  promptly  drew  attention  to  the  business  before 
them;  the  terms  of  surrender  were  arranged;  and,  at  General 
Lee's  request,  reduced  to  writing  as  follows : 

Appomattox  Courthottse,  Va. 
April  9,  1865. 

General:  In  accordance  with  the  substance  of  my  letter 
to  you  of  the  8th  inst.,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender  of 
the  army  of  Northern  Virginia  on  the  following  terms,  to 
wit:  Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  dupli- 
cate, one  copy  to  be  given  to  an  officer  to  be  designated  by 
me,  the  other  to  be  retained  by  such  officer,  or  officers,  as  you 
may  designate.  The  officers  to  give  their  individual  parole 
not  to  take  up  arms  against  the  government  of  the  United 
States  until  properly  exchanged,  and  each  company  and  regi- 
mental commander  to  sign  a  like  parole  for  the  men  of  their 
coDimands.  The  arms,  artillery,  and  public  property,  to  be 
packed  and  stacked,  and  turned  over  to  the  officers  appointed 
by  me  to  receive  them.  This  will  not  embrace  the  side  arms 
of  the  officers,  nor  the  private  horses  or  baggage.  This  done, 
each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  home, 
not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United  States  authority  so  long 
as  he  observes  his  parole,  and  the  laws  in  force  where  he 
may  reside.  U.  S.  GRANT, 

Lieutenant  General, 

He  then  said  to  General  Lee,  "Unless  you  have  some  sug- 
gestion to  make,  I  will  have  a  copy  of  the  letter  made  in  ink 
and  sign  it."  This  gave  Lee  the  opportunity  to  tell  him  that 
the  cavalrymen  and  many  of  tne  artillerymen,  owned  their 
own  horses,  and  wished  to  know  if  those  men  would  be  per- 
mitted to  retain  them.     General  Grant  said  he  would  ffive 


178  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

instructions  "to  let  all  men  who  claim  to  own  a  horse  or  a 
mule  take  the  animal  home  with  them  to  work  their  little 
farms." 

April  9,  1865. 

General:  I  received  your  letter  of  this  date,  containing 
the  terms  of  the  surrender  of  the  army  of  Northern  Vir- 
ginia as  proposed  by  you.  As  they  are  substantially  the 
same  as  those  expressed  in  your  letter  of  the  8th  instant, 
they  are  accepted.  I  will  proceed  to  designate  the  proper 
officers  to  carry  the  stipulations  into  effect. 

R.  E.  LEE. 

General, 

The  formalities  now  concluded,  his  thoughts  now  turned 
to  his  hungry  veterans,  and  to  his  prisoners;  he  said  to  Gen- 
eral Grant:  "I  have  a  thousand  or  more  of  your  officers  and 
men,  whom  we  have  required  to  march  along  with  us  for 
several  days,  and  I  shall  be  glad  to  send  them  to  your  lines 
as  soon  as  it  can  be  arranged,  for  I  have  no  provisions  for 
them.  My  own  men  have  been  living  for  the  past  few  days, 
principally  upon  parched  corn."  General  Grant  suggested 
that  he  would  send  him  twenty-five  thousand  rations.  He 
told  him  it  would  be  ample,  and  assured  him  it  would  be 
a  great  relief.  He  now  rode  away  to  break  the  sad  news  to 
the  brave  troops  he  had  so  long  commanded.  His  presence 
in  their  midst  was  an  exhibition  of  the  devotion  of  soldier 
to  commander.  They  pressed  up  to  him,  anxious  to  touch 
his  person,  or  even  his  horse,  and  tears  washed  from  strong 
men's  cheeks,  the  stains  of  powder.  Slowly  and  painfully  he 
turned  to  his  soldiers,  and  with  voice  quivering  with  emo- 
tion, said:  "Men  we  have  fought  through  the  war  together, 
I  have  done  my  best  for  you,  my  heart  is  too  full  to  say 
more."  It  was  a  simple,  but  most  affecting  scene  to  see  those 
iron-hearted  men,  whose  eyes  had  been  so  often  illumined 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  179 

with  the  fire  of  patriotism  and  true  courage;  that  had  so 
often  glared  with  defiance  in  the  heat  and  fury  of  battle ;  and 
so  oft<in  kindled  with  enthusiasm  and  pride  in  the  hour  of 
success;  moistened  now  with  the  deep  love  and  sympathy 
they  each  had  for  their  beloved  chief.  He  soon  sought  res- 
pite from  those  trying  scenes  and  retired  to  his  private  quar- 
ters. On  the  next  day  a  formal  leave  of  his  army  was  taken, 
in  these  never-to-be-forgotten  words: 

Headquarters  Army  of  Northern  Virginia, 

April   10,   1865. 

After  four  years  of  arduous  service,  marked  by  unsur- 
passed courage  and  fortitude,  the  Army  of  Northern  Virginia 
has  been  compelled  to  yield  to  overwhelming  numbers  and 
resources.  I  need  not  tell  the  survivors  of  so  many  liard- 
fought  battles  who  have  remained  steadfast  to  the  last,  that 
I  have  consented  to  this  result  from  no  distrust  of  them,  but 
finding  that  valor  and  devotion  could  accomplish  nothing 
that  could  compensate  for  the  loss  that  would  have  attended 
the  continuation  of  the  contest,  I  have  determined  to  avoid 
the  useless  sacrifice  of  those  whose  past  services  have  endeared 
them  to  their  countrymen.  By  the  terms  of  agreement,  offi- 
cers and  men  can  return  to  their  homes  and  remain  there 
until  exchanged.  You  will  take  with  you  the  satisfaction 
that  proceeds  from  the  consciousness  of  duty  faithfully  per- 
formed, and  I  earnestly  pray  that  a  merciful  God  will  ex- 
tend to  you  his  blessing  and  protection.  With  unceasing 
admiration  of  your  constancy  and  devotion  to  your  country, 
and  a  grateful  remembrance  of  your  kind  and  generous  con- 
sideration of  myself,  I  bid  yoo  an  affectionate  farewell. 

It.  £j.  LSK. 

General, 

And  then  in  silence,  with  lifted  hat,  he  rode  through  a 
weeping  army.     Thus  terminated  the  career  of  the  Army  of 


180  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Northern  Virginia — an  army  that  was  never  vanquished, 
but  that,  in  obedience  to  the  orders  of  its  trusted  comman- 
der, who  was  himself  yielding  obedience  to  the  dictates  of 
a  pure  and  lofty  sense  of  duty  to  his  men  and  those  de- 
pendent on  him,  laid  down  its  arms  and  furled  the  stand- 
ards never  lowered  in  defeat. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  my  task  is  advancing  to  its  close;  be- 
fore doing  so  permit  me  to  offer  an  excuse  for  reproducing 
the  correspondence  which  passed  between  Lee  and  Grant, 
prior  to  the  surrender.  In  my  conversation  with  many  of 
my  old  comrades  I  have  found  but  few  who  ever  saw  it  in 
print.  If  this  be  true,  then  very  few  there  must  be  among 
our  young  people  who  have  seen  it.  For  their  benefit  I 
ask  that  you  publish  it.  There  is  one  historical  fact,  per- 
taining to  the  surrender,  which  I  think  all  should  know. 
It  is  this:  the  vast  discrepancy  in  numbers  and  resources 
we  were  contending  against  at  this  particular  time.  On  April 
the  10th,  one  day  after  the  surrender,  General  Meade  called 
to  pay  his  respects  to  General  Lee.  The  conversation  natu- 
rally turned  upon  recent  events,  and  he  asked  General  Lee 
how  many  men  he  had  at  Petersburg,  at  the  time  of  Grant's 
final  assault.  General  Lee  told  him  in  reply  that,  by  his  last 
returns,  he  had  33,000  muskets.  General  Meade  then  said: 
''You  mean  that  you  had  33,000  men  in  the  lines  immediately 
around  Petersburg."  To  which  Lee  replied,  "No:"  that 
he  had  but  that  number  from  his  left  in  the  Chickahominy, 
and  to  his  right  at  Dinwiddie  Courthouse.  At  this  General 
Meade  expressed  great  surprise,  and  stated  that  he  then  had 
with  him,  in  one  wing  of  the  Federal  army  which  he  com- 
manded, over  50,000  men.  Now,  remember.  General  Lee  had 
for  months,  kept  up  his  line  of  defense  before  Richmond  and 
Petersburg,  a  distance  of  more  than  thirty  miles,  with  an  army 
of  33,000  half-starved  men,  in  the  face  of  General  Grant 
and  his  vast  army  of  well-fed  men.  The  last  returns  on 
March  1,  1865,  of  Grant's  army,  gives  the  total  of  all  arms, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  181 

at  162,239  men.  Col.  Walter  H.  Taylor,  who  was  I^'s  Ad- 
jutant-Greneral,  says:  "When  General  Lee  withdrew  his 
army  from  the  lines  during  the  night  of  the  2nd  of  April, 
he  had  of  all  arms,  not  over  25,000  men  who  began  the  retreat 
that  terminated  at  Appomattox."  Think  of  it!  25,000  men 
fighting  and  retreating  before  162,000  and  for  several  days 
succeeded  in  checking  and  driving  back  every  attack,  and 
at  last  with  only  8,000  muskets  in  ranks,  surrendered! 

Charges  were  now  withdrawn  from  the  guns,  flags  furled, 
and  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  the  Army  of  Northern 
Virginia,  turned  their  backs  upon  each  other,  for  the  first 
time  in  four  long,  bloody  years.  The  Southern  soldiers, 
wrapped  in  faded,  tattered  uniforms,  shoeless  and  weather- 
beaten,  but  proud  as  when  they  first  rushed  to  battle,  re- 
turned to  their  desolate  fields;  homes  in  many  cases  in  ashes, 
blight,  blast,  and  want  on  every  side!  Grand,  glorious,  and 
noble  body  of  men,  your  deeds  of  bravery  and  self-sacrifice 
to  duty  and  your  fair  Southland,  will  go  down  the  ages  in 
history  and  in  song,  never,  no  never,  to  be  forgotten !  • 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  as  my  task  is  drawing  to  its  close,  my 
heart  throbs  and  thrills;  again  my  blood  courses  rapidly 
through  my  veins  as  I  hear  in  imagination  the  old  Rebel 
Yell,  and  recall  the  many  deeds  of  daring  of  my  old  and 
much-loved  comrades  in  gray.  How  I  love  that  grand  old 
army  and  the  noble  band  who  filled  its  ranks!  And  it  fills 
my  heart  with  joy  when  I  feel  and  know  that  we 

"Who  fold  this  love  with  rapture  nearer  our  heart, 
Believe  that  some-where,  some  time,  we  will  meet  and 
never  part." 


182  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


LOCAL  WAR  HISTORY 


The  following  very  interesting  paper  was  read  before 
the  Pickett-Thornton  Camp,  Chapter  16,  of  the  Daughters 
of  the  Confederacy,  at  Farmville,  Va.,  by  the  late  Dr.  James 
L.  White,  and  reported  in  the  Farmville,  Va.,  Herald  of  July 
9,  1897.  Dr.  White  died  June  26,  1909,  aged  76  years,  and 
lies  buried  in  the  Cemetery  at  Farmville.  This  very  sug^ 
gestive  inscription  is  inscribed  on  his  tombstone  there:  ''The 
Beloved  Physician." 


At  the  request  of  some  of  the  members  of  your  organi- 
zation, and  after  reading  the  second  letter  from  Prof.  T.  J. 
Garden,  addressed  to  you,  it  has  occurred  to  me  that  I  might, 
from  my  personal  recollection,  add  some  items  of  interest  and 
information  to  the  history  of  the  Confederate  General  Hos- 
pital, located  at  Farmville  during  the  late  war. 

After  participating  as  Surgeon  in  the  celebrated  cam- 
paign in  the  Valley  of  Virginia  in  1862,  I  was  ordered  to 
report  for  duty  to  the  surgeon  in  charge  of  the  General  Hos- 
pital at  Farmville,  and  did  so  about  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber of  that  year.  I  remained  on  duty  at  the  General  Hos- 
pital at  Farmville  until  January  '64,  when  I  was  transferred 
to  field  service  and  ordered  to  report  to  Gen.  Longstreet, 
whose  corps  was  then  occupying  the  eastern  portion  of 
Tennessee.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  spring  of  that  year, 
Longstreet's  corps  was  ordered  to  return  again  to  Virginia, 
and  I  served  as  Brigade  Surgeon  to  Bryant's  brigade,  of 
Kershaw's  Division  in  the  campaign  of  1864,  from  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness  to  the  front  of  Petersburg. 

I  remained  with  I^ngstreet's  corps  until  the  early  fall 
of  1864,  when  I  was  again  transferred  to  hospital  duty  at 
Lynchburg,  and  served  as  Surgeon  in  charge  of  one  of  the 
General  Hospitals  until  February,  1865,  when  I  was  again 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  183 

transferred  to  Farmville,  and  took  charge  of  my  old  division 
in  the  General  Hospital,  and  served  in  that  capacity  till  the 
termination  of  the  war. 

Pardon  me  for  alluding  to  this  much  of  my  war  history. 
It  is  only  referred  to  because,  to  some  extent,  it  is  connected 
with  the  history  of  the  General  Hospital  at  Farmville. 

The  General  Hospital  at  Farmville  was  organized  in 
the  year  1862,  under  the  supervision  of  the  late  Dr.  H.  D. 
Taliaferro,  who  was  surgeon  in  charge  from  its  organization 
to  the  termination  of  the  war.  Its  capacity  was  about  1,200 
or  1,500  beds,  which  were  occupied  chiefly  by  cases  of  chronic 
diseases,  and  convalescents  from  the  hospitals  in  the  cities, 
and  others  near  the  field  of  active  operations. 

The  buildings  used  for  hospital  purposes  were  the  sev- 
eral tobacco  factories  and  warehouses  in  the  town,  which  con- 
stituted the  1st  and  2nd  divisions,  together  with  ten  or  twelve 
new  wards  erected,  and  located  to  the  west  of  the  corporate 
limits,  and  directly  on  the  line  of  the  N.  &  W.  railroad, 
which  constituted  the  3rd  division  of  the  General  Hospital. 

Drs.  Walton  and  Tuft  were  in  charge,  respectively,  of 
the  1st  and  2nd  divisions,  and  I  was  assigned  for  duty  in 
charge  of  the  new  wards,  or  the  3rd  division.  Those  wards 
became  the  property  of  the  United  States  at  the  surrender, 
and,  after  being  occupied  as  hospitals,  and  deposits  of  dis- 
tribution of  rations  and  other  supplies  to  our  indigent  colored 
friends  of  this  and  the  several  adjacent  counties,  under  the 
auspicies  of  the  Freedman's  Bureau  for  several  years,  were 
sold  in  1870,  or  at  the  time  this  department  was  discontinued 
at  Farmville.  Soon  thereafter  they  were  all  torn  down  and 
removed,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  extreme  western 
ward,  which  is  even  now,  at  this  writing,  partly  intact,  and 
used  as  a  dwelling. 

The  office  of  the  surgeon  in  charge  of  the  3rd  division 


184  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

and  the  dispensary  (which  was  in  charge  of  the  late  Mr. 
L.  W.  Williamson,  a  very  competent  druggist,  who  died  a  few 
years  ago  and  is  buried  in  the  Farmville  Cemetery) ,  together 
with  the  bakery  and  the  commissary  department  of  that  di- 
vision, are  still  standing  and  occupied  as  dwellings.  They 
are  the  buildings  in  the  rear  of  the  residence  and  garden  of 
our  worthy  fellow-citizen,  ex-Governor  McKinney,  on  the 
south  side  of  the  N.  &  W.  R.  R.,  and  were  opposite  the 
wards  which  were  located  on  the  north  side,  with  their  gables 
and  main  entrance  fronting  the  road,  and  extending  back  in 
their  length  from  100  to  150  feet  towards  the  river.     ^ 

Dr.  H.  D.  Taliaferro  had  been  previous  to  the  war,  sur- 
geon in  the  United  States  Navy.  He  was  a  good  organizer, 
a  splendid  executive  officer,  well  up  in  his  profession,  an  af- 
fable and  kind-hearted  gentleman,  and  well  qualified  for  the 
position  of  Surgeon  in  charge  of  the  General  Hospital  at 
Farmville  to  which  he  was  assigned.  After  the  close  of  the 
war  he  returned  to  his  former  home  in  Orange,  Virginia,  and 
after  a  few  years  went  thence  to  Richmond,  and  finally  re- 
turned to  Farmvile,  where  he  resided  and  practiced  his  pro- 
fession until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  January,  1891. 
He  was  buried  in  the  Farmville  Cemetery.  The  other  sur- 
geons in  charge  of  divisions  were  Dr.  R.  H.  Walton,  and 
Dr.  Tuft  respectively  of  the  1st  and  2nd  divisions.  Each 
of  the  division  surgeons  had  under  their  direction  a  number 
of  assistant  surgeons  who  had  charge  of  the  several  wards  in 
^the  respective  divisions.  Among  those  associated  with  me  in 
the  3rd  division  were  Drs.  Boatwright,  Chandler,  Mathews, 
Garden,  Ladd,  Grayson,  etc.  In  the  other  divisions  the 
ward  surgeons  were  Drs.  Carter,  Boykin,  Russell,  Hancock, 
Tatum,  and  others  whose  names  I  cannot  now  recall.  Revs.  Os- 
bom,  Langhorn,  and  Mcllwaine  were  Chaplains.  The  Quar- 
termaster and  Commissary  departments  were  in  charge  of 
Major  R.  B.  Marye,  with  several  assistants.  It  was  a  pleas- 
ant military  family  and  every  branch  was  in  harmony,  and 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  185 

satisfactory  to  the  citizens  and  refugees,  of  whom  there  were 
a  great  many  temporarily  residing  in  Farmville  at  that  time. 

There  were  none  among  us  who  at  that  time  entertained 
any  other  idea  than  that  the  independency  of  the  Confederacy 
would  be  ultimately  established;  but  as  time  lengthened  into 
years,  we  became  more  and  more  convinced  that  our  cause 
was  slowly  but  surely  waning  in  its  strength  and  resources, 
and  that  we  had  jeopardized  our  all,  save  honor  and  love 
of  tradition  and  section,  in  the  uncertain  balances  of  war, 
which  would  end  ere  long  in  disaster  to  our  homes  and  loved 
ones.  We  were  not  therefore,  altogether  surprised  at  the 
news  which  reached  us  on  the  3rd  of  April,  1865,  that  the 
overwhelming  Federal  forces,  which  had  been  besieging 
Petersburg  for  nearly  a  year,  had  at  last  succeeded  in  break- 
ing through  the  attenuated  lines  of  our  half-clad,  and  half- 
fed  Confederate  heroes,  driving  them  from  their  strong  and 
fortified  position  in  the  front  of  that  city  and  necessitating 
the  evacuation  of  Richmond,  which  was  the  seat  of  the  Con- 
federate Government. 

Then  began  that  sad,  but  stubborn  and  celebrated  retreat 
of  the  Confederate  forces  which  terminated  in  the  surrender, 
on  the  9th  of  April,  at  Appomattox  Courthouse.  The  sad 
and  terrible  scenes  witnessed  during  that  short  week  of  the 
retreat  of  the  Confederates,  and  those  which  followed  for 
many  days  and  weeks  thereafter,  will  long  be  remembered 
by  the  citizens  of  Farmville.  Especially  will  be  remembered 
the  days  of  the  6th  and  7th  of  April,  for  those  were  the 
days  and  nights  our  famished  soldiers  reached  our  town. 
All  day  and  all  night  long  the  worn  and  weary  column  drag- 
ged its  slow  length  through  our  streets;  all  day  and  all  night 
long  did  our  generous  people,  with  open  doors,  distribute 
such  provisions  of  food  and  comfort  as  they  possessed,  to  this 
almost  famished  and  heart-broken  army. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  7th,  I  think  it  was,  Gen- 


186  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

eral  Lee,  weary  and  worn  with  loss  of  sleep  and  the  great 
responsibility  of  his  position,  entered  our  town  and,  ascer- 
taining the  whereabouts  of  Generals  Breckenridge,  Lawton, 
and  St.  Johns,  respectively  the  Secretary  of  War,  Quarter 
Master  General,  and  Commissary  General,  who  had  spent  the 
night,  but  not  in  sleep,  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  P.  H.  Jackson, 
held  an  interview  with  them.  He  remained  but  a  short  while 
and,  after  taking  a  CONFEDERATE  cup  of  coffee,  which 
was  sent  to  his  room,  parted  from  those  gentlemen  at  the 
yard  gate.  This,  perhaps,  was  the  last  meeting,  or  official 
consultation,  held  betwen  General  Lee  and  any  of  the  cabinet 
officers  of  the  Confederate  Government.  Generals  Brecken- 
ridge and  Lawton  turned  their  course  toward  Danville  to 
join  President  Davis  and  the  other  members  of  the  Cabinet, 
who  had  gone  by  rail  directly  from  Richmond  to  Danville, 
and  General  Lee,  in  the  opposite  dire€tion,  crossing  the 
bridge  over  the  Appomattox  river  at  this  place,  joined  the 
Confederate  column  in  Cumberland,  which  had  been  drawn 
up  in  line  of  battle  from  the  point  of  woods  near  the 
railroad  bridge  crossing  the  hill  near  the  Lithia  Springs, 
thence  across  the  old  plank  road  near  the  toll  house  and  be- 
yond the  dwelling  on  the  Bazarre  plantation.  The  Federal 
column  occupied  the  hills  to  the  south  and  east  of  the  town. 
At  one  time,  early  in  the  day,  it  was  thought. that  a  general 
engagement  would  take  place,  and  the  citizens  were  ordered 
to  leave  the  town.  Many  of  them,  especially  the  women  and 
children,  did  so,  but  there  was  nothing  more  than  an  ex- 
change of  a  few  artillery  shots  between  the  two  opposing  lines 
of  battle,  which  resulted  in  no  damage,  though  some  of  the 
houses  within  the  corporate  limits  twere  sttruck,  and  the 
marks  of  the  shots  may  be  seen  on  them  even  at  this  day. 
Later  in  the  afternoon,  that  portion  of  the  Confederate 
forces  which  had  been  engaged  at  the  High  Bridge,  crossed 
to  the  north  side  of  the  river  at  that  point,  and  after  uniting 
with  the  main  body  opposite  the  town,  took  up  again  their 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  187 

march.  In  the  meanwhile  the  Federals,  so  soon  as  the  Con- 
federate forces  began  their  march,  threw  a  pontoon  bridge 
across  the  river,  (the  wooden  bridge  having  been  burned  by 
the  Confederates  early  in  the  day)  and  crossing  to  the  Cum- 
berland side  of  the  river,  made  an  attack.  They  were  re- 
pulsed and  made  no  further  advance  till  near  sunset. 

The  night  of  that  day  our  citizens  were  again  kept  from 
sleeping  and  in  an  anxious  and  alarmed  state,  by  the  con- 
tinuous passing  of  the  Federal  forces  through  the  streets. 
None  but  those  who  were  present  can  imagine  the  horrors  of 
that  miserable  night  to  our  people.  Closed  doors  were  but 
little  protection  from  the  swarm  of  the  Federal  host  that 
crowded  our  yards  and  streets,  and  none  at  all  from  the  horde 
of  lawless  thieves  and  boomers  who  followed  in  the  wake  of 
the  victorious  army.  We  were  indeed  in  a  pitiable  condi- 
tion. Martial  law,  however,  was  established  the  following 
day,  and  guards  of  protection  were  given  those  who  applied 
for  them,  and  though  we  were  prisoners  in  our  own  homes, 
still  we  felt  less  alarm,  and  madfe  ourselves  more  comfortable. 
We  knew  nothing  of  the  events  transpiring  at  the  front. 
Hopeful  we  were,  but  ignorant  as  to  whether  our  people  had 
succeeded  in  reaching  and  uniting  with  others  of  our  Con- 
federates at  Lynchburg,  or  had  encountered  irreparable  dis- 
aster. Sunday  morning  however,  the  various  Church  bells  and 
others  in  the  town,  began  ringing,  and  we  were  told  it  was 
to  announce  to  all  the  surrender  of  General  Lee  at  Appomat- 
tox Courthouse. 

Thus  ended  with  us  the  entire  movements  of  the  war, 
but  for  days  and  weeks  and  months  we  had  to  submit  to  mili- 
tary government  in  our  town  and  vicinity.  A  provost  mar- 
shal with  a  military  company  to  assist  him,  held  us  in  sub- 
mission for  eighteen  months  or  two  years,  and  we  had  no 
liberty  or  freedom  of  action  until  the  last  blue  coat  of  our 
conquerors  had  disappeared  from  among  us. 


188  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

This  much  of  the  local  history  of  our  town  during  the 
last  days  of  the  Confederacy  I  have  thought  would  be  of 
interest  to  jovl.  None  but  those  who  witnessed  them 
can  ever  realize  how  terrible  was  our  everyday  life.  Our 
domestic  living  and  home  rule,  underwent  a  sudden  and  de- 
plorable change.  With  no  financial  resources,  and  our  pro- 
visions all  exhausted,  many  of  our  citizens  were  compelled  to 
accept  the  GENEROUS  BOUNTY  of  dry  codfish  and  hard- 
tack from  our  aggressors. 

(Note:  This  article  was  continued  in  a  later  issue  of  the 
Herald,  but  this  much  is  perhaps  sufficient  for  our  present 
purpose. — C.  E.  B.) 


^rinr;  Zluttarit  (ilauntg  in  %  Vs-tatatttutian  l^etxa^ 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  191 


PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  IN  THE 
RE-CONSTRUCTION  PERIOD 

The  War  was  ended!  It  had  ended  disastrously  for 
the  South !  Virginia,  battle-ground  of  the  hostile  forces,  was 
devastated!  Her  soldiers  came  back  to  their  homes,  if  in- 
deed they  had  any  homes  to  come  back  to,  and,  settling  down 
to  peaceful  pursuits  with  the  same  determination  with  which 
they  had  addressed  themselves  to  the  war,  began  the  sterner 
struggle  with  poverty. 

There  was  not  enough  seed  left  in  Prince  Edward  with 
which  to  plant  the  first  crop;  neither  was  there  money  with 
which  to  buy  seed  had  it  been  obtainable.  Their  hands  were 
tied  in  many  trying  ways,  yet  they  bent  to  the  new  tasks  with 
a  cheerfulness  that  was  inspiring. 

Freedmen's  Bureaus  were  set  up  by  the  conquering  North 
and  officials  with  shoulder  straps  and  brass  buttons  abounded. 
They  were  sent  into  every  County  with  authority  to  look 
after  the  late  slaves;  "wards  of  the  nation,"  as  they  were 
then  called. 

The  negroes  were  organized  into  "Union  Leagues." 
They  were  not  eager  for  work.  The  difficulty  of  obtaining 
labor  was  added  to  the  other  troubles  of  the  people.  De- 
praved men,  some  of  them  alas,  citizens,  many  of  them  a  low 
type  of  Northern  new-comers,  entirely  ignorant  of  the  negro 
and  his  ways,  and  of  the  problems  of  the  South ;  "Scalawags," 
and  "Carpet-baggers"  they  were  called,  respectively,  went 
among  the  negroes  and  did  what  they  could  to  incite  them  to 
tumult  and  riot. 

To  the  everlasting  credit  of  these  negroes,  be  it  said, 
that,  though  accepting  their  freedom  as  a  great  boon,  and 
relying   with   childlike   faith   upon  the   promises   of   thes© 


192  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

northerners,  most  of  them  continued  to  be  orderly,  respectful 
and  industrious.  Thus  was  the  previous  kind  treatment  they 
had  received  from  their  Virginia  masters  vindicated.  Yet, 
even  in  spite  of  their  admittedly  difficult  position,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  Prince  Edward  County,  had  even  then,  any 
greater  ''labor  problem"  than  has  been  experienced  by  her  in 
recent  years. 

We  must  not  neglect  to  note  in  this  connection,  the  fact 
that  the  city  of  Baltimore  came  to  the  aid  of  Virginia  in 
this  time  of  tremendous  need  like  a  veritable  Ceres  sowing 
seeds  of  hope,  and  offered  to  furnish  seed  on  security  of  the 
crop  to  be  planted,  and  marketed.  This  offer  was  most  grate- 
fully accepted,  and  everybody  took  fresh  courage.  There  was 
pulsing  life  once  more  in  the  land;  peace  brooded  over  all. 
Alas  it  was  not  to  go  on  uninterrupted !  The  horrors  of  the 
reconstruction  were  coming  on  apace.  Prince  Edward 
shared  in  the  hope  that  came  with  the  generosity  of  the  city 
of  Baltimore;  she  was  to  share  in  the  turmoil  of  the  recon- 
struction days.  The  eager  cormorants  from  the  north  were 
getting  hungry  and  were  already  demanding  their  sop. 

In  1870  the  new  Constitution  of  Virginia,  framed  in  1867- 
68,  by  what  is  known  in  history  as  the  "Black  and  Tan," 
or  ''Underwood"  Convention,  became  effective.  Virginia  was 
"readmitted  into  the  Union;"  that  Union  she  had  been  fore- 
most in  forming  and  in  establishing,  and  that  Union  she 
had  been  loathe  to  leave.  Under  these  new  conditions,  each 
county  was  laid  off  into  townships,  and  the  County  Courts, 
almost  coeval  with  the  Colony,  were  abolished,  and  the  office 
of  County  Judge  was  created. 

Boards  of  Supervisors  were  created  at  the  same  time. 
Grave  apprehension  was  felt  lest  the  negroes,  then  constitut- 
ing the  majority  of  the  registered  voters,  might  work  great 
havoc  in  the  fiscal  matters  of  the  county  by  electing  a  ma- 
jority of  the  newly  created  boards.    The  whites,  however,  so 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  198 

arranged  their  forces  that  these  fears  were  never  seriously- 
realized,  and  the  minimum  of  disorders  occurred. 

From  about  1870  matters  have  gone  on  in  regular  and 
orderly  routine,  with  nothing  of  particular  moment  calling 
for  the  attention  of  the  chronicler  of  the  Reconstruction  Days. 

Further  light  is  shed  on  these  strange  days  in  the  chap- 
ter on  the  judiciary,  to  which  the  attention  of  the  reader  is 
specifically  directed. 


Prtttr^  lEdmarii  (Honntxi  in  lift  WatUi  Var 

1.  Introduction. 

2.  Red  Cross  activities. 

3.  Muster  Roll  of  the  Farmville  Guard. 

4.  List  of  white  men  from  Prince  Edward  county  in 
the  service. 

5.  List  of  colored  men  from  Prince  Edward  county  in 
the  service. 


Hhtory  of  Prince  Edward  County  197 


PRINCE  EDWARD  IN  THE  WORLD  WAR 

Introduction 

In  this  chapter  we  shall  endeavor  to  give,  with  some  rea- 
sonable accuracy,  the  story  of  the  part  played  by  Prince 
Edward  county  in  the  great  war  of  1914-18.  Of  necessity  the 
recital  must  be  somewhat  curtailed,  for  space  is  not  avail- 
able in  which  to  tell  of  the  multitudinous  war  activities  of  the 
people  of  this  part  of  the  State.  Then,  too,  the  lists  appended 
are  subject  to  further  revision  for  errors.  It  is  too  much  to 
expect  that,  in  the  mad  whirl  of  war's  turmoil,  all  names 
shall  be  properly  recorded  or  transcribed.  Many  of  the  men 
went  by  "nicknames"  and  these  occasionally  got  into  the 
records.  Difficulty  was  encountered  also,  in  keeping  the  names 
of  white  and  colored  soldiers  separate.  Reasonable  accuracy 
has,  however,  been  attained,  due  in  no  small  measure  to  the 
splendid  work  of  Mrs.  Roberta  Large  of  Farmville,  who,  at 
much  expenditure  of  time  and  labor,  has  done  so  much  to 
keep  our  county  records  straight. 

Much  additional  and  valuable  information  upon  this 
topic  will  be  found  included  in  chapter  eleven  of  this  work,  in 
the  war  activities  of  the  Churches  of  the  County. 


198  Hutory  of  Prince  Edward  County 

THE  KED  CROSS 

The  following  brief  statement  respecting  the  work  of 
the  Prince  Edward  County  Chapter  of  the  American  Red 
Cross,  is  taken  from  a  careful  report  of  the  work  of  that  or- 
ganization during  the  great  war,  prepared  by  Senator  R.  K. 
Brock  of  Farmville,  and  filed  at  the  Court  House: 

The  local  chapter  was  organized  at  Farmville,  August 
31,  1917,  largely  through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  T.  G.  Hardy,  sup- 
plemented by  a  visit  to  Farmville  of  Col.  Henry  W.  Ander- 
soi'.,  later  head  of  the  Red  Cross  Mission  to  Roumania. 

At  the  organization  meeting  the  following  officers  were 
elected : 

Chairman:  Robert  K.  Brock. 
Vice-Chaifman :   Mrs.  J.  L.  Jarman. 
Treasurer:  J.  L.  Bugg. 
Secretary:   Rev.  C.  P.  Holbrook. 

Executive  Committee:  the  Chairman,  Secretary,  and 
Treasurer,  ex-officio;  W.  S.  Weaver,  Rice,  Va. ;  E.  S.  Taylor, 
Prospect,  Va. ;  Mrs.  T.  P.  Singleton,  Darlington  Heights,  Va ; 
E.  S.  Martin,  J.  L.  Jarman,  Mrs.  R.  B.  Tuggle,  Mrs.  A.  T. 
Gray,  Mrs.  J.  L.  Jarman,  and  Mrs.  W.  P.  Richardson,  all 
of  Farmville,  Va. 

A  Membership  Committee,  composed  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Jar- 
man, Mrs.  A.  T.  Gray.  Mrs.  R.  B.  Tuggle,  Mrs.  Thos.  G. 
Hardy  and  Miss  Sue  Gray  Flippen,  was  appointed  by  the 
Chairman,  and  the  membership  was  rapidly  increased. 

The  officers  and  the  Executive  Committee,  as  well  as 
the  Committee  on  Membership,  are  people  of  standing  in 
the  community.  The  Chairman  is  a  lawyer  by  profession 
and  a  former  member  of  the  Virginia  Senate ;  the  Vice- 
Chairman,  wife  of  President  Jarman  of  the  State  Normal 
College  for  Women  at  Farmville,  occupies  a  place  of  great 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  199 

prominence  in  the  social  and  civic  life  of  the  community; 
the  Treasurer  is  Cashier  of  the  People's  National  Bank,  one 
of  the  leading  banking  institutions  of  ^hlis  section,  liand 
Chairman  of  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  Liberty  Loan  Cam- 
paigns, bringing  his  county  well  over  the  top  each  time;  and 
the  Secretary  is  Rector  of  Johns  Memorial  Episcopal  Church, 
Farmville,  who  has  had  wide  experience  in  many  forms  of 
social  welfare  work,  and  brought  with  him  an  enthusiasm  for 
the  great  work  he  was  espousing. 

The  Women's  Work  Committee,  headed  by  Mrs.  J.  L. 
Jarman,  amongst  much  other  invaluable  war  work  made  the 
following  articles: 

Surgical  Dressings 21,660 

Hospital  Garments 825 

Hospital  Supplies  520 

Refugee  Garments 818 

Reclamation  Work  done  for  Soldiers  at 

Camp  Lee  1,368 

Comfort  Kits 1,100 

Christmas  Packets  50 

Property  Bags 50 

Linen  Shower 350 

In  addition,  the  Knitting  Committee  com- 
pleted the  following: 

Sweaters 248 

Socks _ 286 

Mufflers 11 

Wristlets 18 

Afghan  1 

Branch  Chapters  were  organized  in  the  following  places: 
Rice  Branch,  W.  S.  Weaver,  Chairman;  Meherrin  Branch, 
M.  E.  Gee,  Chairman;  Darlington  Heights  Branch,  Mrs.  T. 
P.  Singleton,  Chairman;  Prospect  Branch,  T.  J.  Mcllwaine, 


200  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Chairman,  succeeded  by  W.  C.  Chick;  Sandy  River  Branch, 
W.  B.  Bruce,  Chairman;  Abilene  Branch,  Miss  Annie  Me- 
Gehee,  Chairman;  Felden  Branch,  Miss  Marie  Allen,  Chair- 
man: Hampden- Sidney,  Miss  Susie  Venable,  Chairman;  Five 
Forks  Branch,  Mrs.  Norvell  Crute,  Chairman.  There  is 
also  a  Colored  Branch  in  Farmville^  and  colored  members 
elsewhere  in  the  county,  who  did  fine  work. 

The  Chapter  was  not  organized  when  the  first  drive  for 
funds  was  inaugurated,  but  in  the  second  drive  in  the  spring 
of  1918,  with  Dr.  Jarman  as  Chairman  of  the  War  Fund,  the 
quota  of  $2,800  was  more  than  dioubled,  the  sum  of  $6,250 
being  raised.  This  was  accomplished  with  the  splendid  or- 
ganization perfected  by  Dr.  Jarman. 

The  Home  Service  Section  was  organized  in  the  early 
summer  of  1918,  with  Dr.  J.  M.  Lear  as  Chairman,  and  Miss 
Mary  Dupuy  as  Secretary.  Miss  Dupuy  was  succeeded  by 
Mrs.  lioberta  Large,  who  has  performed  wonders  in  securing 
and  perfecting  the  records  of  the  individual  personnel  of  the 
men  who  went  into  service  from  Prince  Edward  County. 

The  Junior  Red  Cross,  under  the  leadership  of  Miss 
lima  Von  Schilling  did  wonders  and  forwarded  the  follow- 
ing articles  to  the  Red  Cross  Headquarters: 

Property  Bags 200 

Layettes  1  Box 

Garments 145 

Scrap  Books 180 

Gun  Wipes - ~ 500 

The  local  Chapter  is  still  (1921)  maintaining  an  exist- 
ence, as  a  permanent  organization. 


HiMory  of  Prince  Edward  County  201 

IN  SERVICE  DURING  THE  GREAT  WAR 

Members  Farmville  Guard  , 

J.  Watson  Anglea;  John  W.  Almon. 

J.  E.  Baldwin;  S.  Blanton  Badgett;  Charles  Boyd; 
Lloyd  Bullock;  Otiis  Bowman ;  Roibert  Stanley  Baldwin; 
Henry  Bailey. 

D.  J.  Carroll;  *  Alfred  Coleman;  J.  Vernon  Collins; 
John  Hughbert  Cocks;  Wirt  Card^ell;  William  Haislip 
Crenshaw;  Fields  Cobb;  Granville  Chappell;  Mack  Cowan; 
W.  C.  Collins;  Guy  J.  Crenshaw;  Felix  Cline;  C.  E.  Chap- 
peU. 

Harry  Dix;  *Hershel  Dix;  W.  P.  Davis;  F.  L.  Dietrick; 
Ruben  Daniel;  W.  D.  Druen;  R.  C.  Dodl;  J.  F.  Dodson. 

Littleton  Edmunds;  Charles  F.  Eifert;  J.  F.  Echols; 
Decker  Emerson. 

R.  H.  Foster;  George  Fitzgerald;  J.  W.  Fers. 

Thomas  Greenalls;  *John  N.  Garland;  J.  H.  Gilliam; 
J.  E.  Garnett;  R.  R.  Gilliam:  W.  S.  Gilliam;  J.  W.  Good- 
man: Walker  M.  Gray. 

H.  H.  Hunt;  Goode  Hundley;  L.  L.  Haymaker;  *W.  W. 
Hillsman;  J.  Ashley  Hurt;  Meband  Harper. 

John  N.  Irving;  Linwood  Irvine;  Courtney  Irvine. 

Emerson  Jarman;  Joseph  Jarman^ 

Henry  A.  Kelsey;  A.  G.  Kelsey;  *Finney  Kernodle. 

Joseph  E.  Lowe;  James  E.  Lipscomb;  Guy  F.  Lancaster. 

Horace  H.  Moorefield;  Richard  K.  Marsh;  Rupert  F. 
Mann;  Frank  L.  Mcintosh. 

T.  A.  Perrow;  D.  W.  Paulett;  Raymond  Phillips. 

Robert  B.  Rodgers;  Lucius  R.  Reedy;  Charles  W.  Raf- 
ferty;  Spottswood  B.  Robinson. 

♦Millard  Guy  Smith;  H.  B.  Shultz;   Emmett  Sheppard; 


202  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Joel  Sheppard ;  Bryant  Sheppard ;  Melvin  T.  Smith ;  Blanch- 
ard  Skillings;  Frank  E.  Slaughter. 

J.  C.  Terry;  Lawrie  W.  Thompson;  Thomas  F.  Taylor. 

Cunningham  Watkins;  T.  H.  Whitlock;  J.  A.  Whitlock 
James  Leigh  Wilson,  Jr.;  W.  H.  Waters;  Ernest  Woodall 
T.  H.  Williams;  Sam  Webster;  *John  Woodson  Webster 
Henry  Wood;  Carl  Wilck;  Paul  Wilck;  George  W.  White 
Homer  F.  Wilkinson;  Stanley  Watkins;  Wallace  J.  Wilck 

*Signifies  those  who  died  in  Service. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  203 


LIST  OF  WHITE  MEN  IN  THE  SERVICE  FROM 
PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY 

Paul  T.  Atkinson;  William  Scott  Addleman;  Henry 
Guthrie  Allen. 

*Paul  Simpson  Barrow;  Owen  Hall  Bliss;  Samuel  W. 
Bondurant;  William  T.  Bondurant;  Charles  Richard  Bugg; 
K.  C.  Bliss;  J.  M.  Brightwell;  W.  R.  Berry;  John  W.  Brand- 
on; T.  L.  Bliss;  Everett  Bailey;  John  Barton;  J.  T.  Baker; 
Norman  Berry;  R.  A.  Brisentine;  W.  D.  Brisentine;  C.  H. 
Borum;  J.  E.  Booth;  Willie  Brooks;  Rush  W.  Bondurant; 
Robert  N.  Bradshaw;  William  H.  Bondurant;  Charles  D. 
Beck ;  Nathan  Baker ;  Oscar  Borum ;  John  Clarke  Bondurant. 

Charles  M.  Clarke;  Frank  B.  Chernault;  M.  B.  Coyner; 
T.  H.  Crenshaw;  J.  C.  Crawley;  J.  L.  Calhoun;  H.  W.  Cov- 
ington; F.  B.  Cale;  *R.  C.  Cheadle;  L.  B.  Carwile;  Baudie 
G.  Carter ;  Charles  Booker  Cunningham ;  Albert  Casey ;  John 

D.  Cobb:  Jasper  S.  Carter. 

Leon  Lonsdale  Duncan;  L.  W.  Drummeller;  T.  B.  Daniel: 
Harry  S.  Durfee;  W.  M.  Davis;  Linwood  Dalton;   Shirley 

E.  Dowdy;  W.  M.  Dickerson. 

Claude  M.  East;  Russell  East. 

Andrew  Jackson  Fears;  Sam.  S.  Flippen;  J.  N.  Foster; 
H.  Leonard  Fulcher ;  Roland  Scott  Franklin ;  H.  T.  Ferguson ; 
John  W.  Ferguson;  *Henry  Fowlkes. 

William  Gaunce ;  James  Sherman  Goodrich ;  Watson  Wo- 
mack  Gray ;  Thomas  H.  Garnett ;  H.  A.  Glenn ;  N.  I.  Gibson ; 
N.  C.  Gallier;  I.  Peyton  Glenn;  F.  T.  Glenn;  Ulysses  O. 
Gunter;  Isaac  C.  Glenn. 

E.  H.  Herzig;  Thos.  G.  Hardy;  W.  A.  Holt;  W.  W. 
Hughes;  J.  C.  Hopkins;  W.  Edward  Hines;  W.  Eleaser 
Hughes ;  J.  B.  Holt ;  Harry  E.  Hamilton ;  B.  G.  Hood ;  Henry 
Hancock:  Alfred  E.  Inge;  L.  P.  Inge. 


204  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

R.  W.  Jones;  J.  N.  Jennings;  Ernest  L.  Jennings;  Ed- 
ward L.  Jennings. 

G.  W.  Kennedy. 

W.  E.  Lee;  Berry  Lee;  J.  V.  Lewis;  Joseph  H.  Lewis, 
Jr.;  Herman  Levy. 

Richard  Lee  Morton;  Mark  A.  Moffett;  R.  E.  Moffett; 
M.  R.  Mays;  T.  J.  Mcllwaine;  W.  H.  Mason;  Charles  W. 
Mason;  R.  F.  Mann;  William  Conway  Morris;  D.  C.  Morris; 
John  A.  Morris. 

C.  M.  Noel;  Finley  N.  Nelson. 

F.  L.  Orange ;  J.  J.  Overton ;  L.  N.  Oliver ;  Otto  Oliver. 

William  R.  Price ;  C.  A.  Price,  Jr. ;  Joseph  A.  Poole ;  M. 
M.  Ponton;  G.  D.  Pickett;  Haywood  Pollard;  Robert  H. 
Phillips. 

Gates  Randolph  Richardson ;  Joe  Edmund  Rogers ;  James 
G.  Redford ;  Sam  H.  Rodgers. 

Willie  Mann  Scott;  T.  B.  Scott;  Frank  Commer  Shultz; 
William  Thomas  Straley;  L.  D.  Simpson;  F.  G.  Shultz; 
*Phil  B.  Swan;  L.  A.  Snow;  G.  E.  Shorter;  C.  L.  Stuart; 
Hutch  Stowe;  Nunnally  Smith. 

John  Daniel  Thomas;  W.  E.  Tomlinson;  Pitzer  S.  Turns; 
Oscar  Thompson. 

James  B.  Vaughan. 

Robert  Earle  Warwick ;  Thomas  Edward  Webster ;  Harry 
Eastley  Whalley ;  John  Hugh  Whalley ;  Lee  Carrington  Whal- 
ley;  Oscar  Hamet  Whitten;  James  William  Wilson,  Jr.; 
Howard  F.  Weaver;  Cecil  F.  Walker;  Charles  T.  Walker;  H. 
E.  Walker;  G.  L.  Walker;  S.  N.  Wood;  Gene  B.  Walker: 
Sam  M.  Weaver;  Alfred  Wolter. 

*  Signifies  those  who  died  in  Service. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  205 

WHITE  MEN  OF  THE  COUNTY  WHO  ENIJSTED 
ELSEWHERE 

Ernest  Allen;  Jean  Anderson;  Willie  Adams. 

J.  P.  Bondiirant;  Charles  Bates;  Richard  B.  Bates;  Eu- 
gene  Budd;  J.  Spencer  Burger. 

W.  G.  Carter;  James  Cowan;  Melvin  Childress:  Robert 
T.  Cocks ;  Morris  Conway ;  Leslie  Carwile ;  Martin  Covington ; 
J.  G.  Crenshaw;  Charles  B.  Crute;  A.  B.  Crawley;  A.  L. 
Crawley. 

Berlin  Driskill;  W.  G.  Dunnington;  Wallace  Duvall; 
A.  R.  Dunkum;  W.  C.  Davis;  E.  M.  Dickerson;  Jack  Dun- 
nington. 

Reid  Edmunds;  J.  Watson  Elliott. 

Pierce  Farr;  H.  G.  Farley;  James  D.  Fowlkes. 

Ernest  Garland;  T.  A.  Gray,  Jr.;  Thomas  D.  Glenn; 
Everett  Garber. 

T.  A.  Hubbard;  H.  J.  Hubbard;  C.  W.  Hubbard;  C.  A. 
M.  Hubbard ;  Hunter  C.  Harris ;  Willard  Hart ;  Robert  Hund- 
ley. 

Jack  Irving. 

Hicl?s  Ligon;  Massie  Lowe;  Hatcher  Layne;  Haynes 
Lancaster;  Clarence  F.  Lynn;  Stanley  R.  Legus. 

*Dan  A.  Mcintosh;  Henry  L.  Moore;  Percy  Moring; 
Cumfy  Mottley;  McGinnis. 

Bernard  Oliver;  Walter  Overton. 

Walter  A.  Palmore ;  Thomas  G.  Price. 

J.  Maxwell  Robeson;  Clyde  V.  Ransom;  Robert  Richard- 
son; Walter  Richardson;  *Dewitt  Riggins;  Floyd  Rosser. 

Ed.  Shorter;  Joel  Sheppard. 

Elmer  R.  Tomlinson ;  Henry  C.  Thompson ;  T.  A.  Tweedy. 

Petit  Venable;  Reginald  Venable;  W.  A.  Vernon;  A. 
E.  Vaughan. 

Frank  Nat  Watkins;  Sam  W.  Watkins;  Louis  Whitlock; 
E.  Dixie  Wilkinson. 

Earle  Homer  Young. 

*Sis:nifies  those  who  died  in  Service. 


206  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

IN  STUDENT  ARMY  TRAINING  CORPS  FROM 

PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  AT  HAMPDEN- 

SIDNEY  COLLEGE 

*F.  A.  Allen;  R.  W.  Bugg;  J.  S.  Q.  Carson;  G.  E.  Coff- 
man;  K.  Drummeller ;  T.  J.  Headlee;  J.  A.  Jones;  R.  C. 
Moore;  J.  W.  Putney;  W.  E.  Smith;  J.  M.  Watkins. 

*  Signifies  those  who  died  in  Service. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  207 

COLORED  MEN  IN  THE   SERVICE  FROM  PRINCE 
EDWARD  COUNTY 

William  H.  Anderson;  James  Armistead;  C.  H.  Ander- 
son; Luther  Allen;  J.  N.  Anderson. 

Wesley  Bedford;  Leonard  P.  Bedford;  Willis  Berry; 
Henry  T.  Brown;  Charles  William  Brown;  Lancaster  Brown; 
Fred  Baker;  John  Baker;  Phillip  Bland;  Wesley  Brown; 
Floyd  Brown;  John  Brown;  Howard  Brown;  Archer  Brown; 
Hunter  Brown;  R.  W.  Brown;  J.  H.  Brown;  S.  J.  Brown; 
Eddie  Brown;  Percy  Brown;  Royall  Brown;  Thomas  B, 
Blue;  Clarence  Blanton;  Eddie  Berry;  Edward  Beverley; 
Willie  Baker;  Charles  Banks;  Waverley  Burr;  J.  C.  Berry- 
man;  Robert  Baldwin;  Ernest  L.  Berryman;  William  Beas- 
ley ;  *Richard  Lee  Biggers ;  A^ernon  Bartee ;  Cavel  Barksdale ; 
Norvel  Brown;  William  Booker. 

Roy  Carthorn;  John  Cheatham;  James  Clarke;  Berkley 
Carthorn;  Joe  Coles;  William  Clarke;  J.  H.  Cromwell;  Paul 
Coleman;  Emmett  Crute;  James  Carter;  Albert  Casey;  Wil- 
lie Clark;  Morton  Couch. 

Amos  Dickerson;  James  S.  Doswell;  George  Daniel;  H. 
A.  Dodson;  Edgar  Durphey;  Champ  Dupuy;  Walter  Davis. 

Willie  Ellis;  Willie  Ellis;  Tom  Evans;  Charles  Ellis; 
Paul  Ellis;  Johnny  Evans;  Alfred  Eggleston. 

Fletcher  Felton;  Clinton  Felton;  Jeff  Foster;  Henry 
Foster;  Sam  Foster;  Spencer  Flournoy;  Peter  Freeman; 
Robert  Foster ;  George  Fultz ;  William  Ford ;  Robert  Fowlkes ; 
Robert  Flournoy;  James  Ford;  John  L.  Fears;  Solomon 
Fore;  Lewis  Flagg;  Frank  Farley;  W.  L.  Fowlkes;  John 
Freeman;  Edward  Flagg. 

James  Gans;  Floyd  Glenn;  Phillip  Alex  Green;  Lewis 
Washington  Green;  Ederick  S.  Green;  Wiley  Ghee;  John 
H.  Giles;  Herbert  Green;  Laban  Green;  Horace  Green;  John 
Goode ;  Frank  Gales ;  Reese  Gordon ;  John  D.  Thomas  Galiier. 


208  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Nathan  Harvey;  Clarence  O.  Hilton;  Philip  Arlie  Hil- 
ton; Richard  Arthur  Hilton;  Walter  Samuel  Hurt;  Floyd 
Harris;  Vernon  Haskins;  *  Charles  Harris;  Wiley  Haskins; 
Charles  Haskins;  W.  Sanders  Hines;  James  Hicks;  John 
Haskins ;  Pompey  Harrison ;  J.  W.  Holmes ;  Randolph 
Harrison;  Johnny  Hurt;  Spencer  Hurt;  Simie  HoUey;  Wal- 
ter Hayes;  Adam  Hicks;  John  S.  Hendricks. 

George  James;  John  Jeffries;  John  Henry  Jordan; 
Mathew  Johnson;  Tom  Johnson;  Wiley  Johnson;  Joe  John- 
son; Herman  Johnson;  Albert  Johnson,  Jr.;  C.  T.  John- 
son; Henry  Johnson;  Johnny  Johnson;  George  Johnson; 
Clem  Johnson;  Elijah  Johnson;  Benj.  F.  Jones;  Henry  T. 
Jones;  Henry  Jones;  Thomas  Jones;  Jim  Jenkins;  Nineveh 
Jones ;  Eddie  Jones ;  J.  H.  Jones ;  Alex  Jones ;  Jasper  Jones ; 
Champ  Jones;  Charles  Jones;  H.  E.  Johns;  Durvan  Jack- 
son; Nelson  Jeffries;  Lee  Jackson;  Ulysses  Jackson:  Clinton 
Jackson;  Chester  A.  Jeffries;  Emmett  Jackson;  J.  M.  Jack- 
son. 

Willie  Knight;  Homer  Kelsor. 

Freebelle  I^ee;  Lightfoot  Lacy;  Robert  Lacy;  Armistead 
Lambert;  James  A.  Lewis;  C.  Henry  Lewis;  George  Lucas; 
Bascom  Ligon;  G.  H.  Ligon;  Herman  Ligon;  Thaniel  Lock- 
ett;  Frank  Lile;  Jesse  Logan. 

Walter  A.  Marshall ;  Edward  Marshall ;  Racey  Matthews : 
Every  Morton;  William  Morton;  Junius  Morton;  Fred  Mor- 
ton; Taze  Morton;  Floyd  Morton;  Edward  Miles;  Clyde 
Mayo ;  Vandterbilt  Miller ;  N.  P.  Miller ;  Ned  Marshall ;  John 
Marshall;  T.  H.  Matthews;  Joe  Moore;  David  E.  Moseley. 

John  Clarence  Paige;  Joe  Pascal;  Richard  Payne,  War- 
ren P.  Pryor;  George  T.  Pryor;  Waverley  Pry  or;  James 
Pryor;  H.  T.  Patterson;  Oscar  Palmore;  William  Payne. 

HaiT'son  Randolph,  Frank  James  Redd;  Moses  Ran- 
dolph; Ulysses  Joe  Randolph;  Henry  A.  Redd;  Romeo  Ran- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  209 

dall;  John  Richardson;  Robert  Rux;  C.  H.  Robinson;  Frank 
J.  Redd;  Flan  Redd;  James  Redd;  Thomas  Redd;  Ed  Redd; 
Sam  Redd;  John  Robertson;  James  H.  Reed;  Sam  Reed. 

Lurtie  Scott;  Henry  Scott;  Edward  Scott;  Albert  Scott; 
Prudential  Scott;  Cleveland  Scott;  Matthew  Scott;  Richard 
Scott;  Richard  Scott;  John  Smith;  George  Smith;  Sam 
Simms;  George  Street;  Vester  Smith;  Tom  Stith;  Oakley 
H.  Sanders. 

Ellis  Thomas;  James  Thornton;  *Henry  Threat;  Watt 
Threat;  Warren  P.  Thompson;  Fred  Taylor;  McKinley 
Tucker:  John  Trent;  Robert  Terry;  John  P.  Towns;  Sam 
Trent;  Frank  Topp. 

Jimmy  Yenable. 

Henry  Watkins;  Alex  Watson;  Truly  Watson;  William 
Whit;  Harrison  Williams;  Percy  C.  Womack;  Willie  Wood- 
son; Clevelanld;  Walker;  Wiley  Waller;  John  Wingfield; 
Monroe  Watkins;  Walter  Watson;  Bennie  Walden;  H.  W. 
Walker;  Ed  Williams:  Norfleet  Ward;  Stardie  Ward;  Rich- 
ard Woodson;  Harrison  West;  Clem  Warren;  Emmett  War- 
ren; Hilary  Wilson;  Robert  Winston;  Edmund  Watson;  Ed- 
ward Winston;  Dennis  Walker;  Branch  Washington;  Charles 
Watson. 

Willie   Young. 

*Siirnifies  those  who  died  in  Service. 


210  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


COLORED  MEN  OF  THE  COUNTY  WHO  ENLISTED 
ELSEWHERE 

Dorsey  Anderson;  Paul  Anderson;  Claud  M.  Allen. 

Nelson  Baker;  Charlie  Baker;  Willis  H.  Branch;  Harvey 
Brown;  Anderson  Brown;  Dominion  Brown;  Herbert  Brown; 
Robert  Booker;  Wesley  Booker;  Wayman  Brown;  John  Sim 
Bolden. 

Charles  Cooper. 

Henderson  Davis;  Edward  Davis;  Jack  Dupuy. 

W.  D.  Elam;  Robert  Anderson  Ellis. 

Samuel  Fowlkes. 

Levi  Green;  Burnett  Griggs;  A.  S.  Green. 

Norman  A.  Hairston ;  Lindsey  Hays ;  Spencer  Hurt ;  Her- 
bert Hines:  George  Hill;  James  Hall. 

Ernest  L.  Johns;  Mesles  Johnson;  Neal  Johnson;  James 
Johnson;  Cleveland  Johnson;  Nelson  Jordan,  Jr.;  Arthur 
Jenkins. 

Coley  Lewis;  Paige  Lancaster;  Daniel  Logan;  Wm.  H. 
Logan;  Paul  Layne;  Joe  Ligon. 

James  Miller;  Preston  Miller;  Haskins  Mosely;  LaFay- 
ette  Munford;  Sam  Matthews. 

Olney  Pry  or. 

Munford  Richardson;  Lud  Roberts. 

Sam  Sims. 

Charles  Terry;  Alfred  Thornton. 

Thomas  Watts;  Joseph  Walker;  Shirley  Walker;  Peniell. 
Watkins;  Harry  Watkins;  Jefferson  J.  Wilson;  Burley  Wil- 
son; Leonard  Wilson;  Nat  Ward;  *Dick  Ward;  C.  H.  Wade; 
Robert  Womack;  Clyde  Woodson;  Howard  White. 

*Signifies  those  who  died  in  Service. 


tSt^t  (HlfixrtlftB  0f  JPrtnr?  lE&tttarli  Qlountg 


1.  The  Baptists  in  Prince  Edward  County.     (General 

History.) 

The  Farmville  Baptist  Church. 

Pisgah  Baptist  Church.     (Rice.) 

Mount  Nebo  Baptist  Church. 

Sharon   Baptist   Church.     (Sandy   River.) 

Spring  Creek  Baptist  Church. 

l^ethpeor  Baptist  Church. 

2.  The  Episcopal  Church  in  Prince  Edward  County. 

(General  History.) 

John's  Memorial.     (Farmville.) 
Five  Forks. 

3.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Prince  Edward 

County.     (General  History.) 

The  Farmville  M.  E.  Church. 
The  Prospect  M.  E.  Church. 
Olive  Branch  M.  E.  Church. 
Salem  M.  E.  Church.     (Rice.) 

4.  The    Presbyterian     Church    in    Prince    Edward 
County.     (General  History.) 

The  Farmville  Presbyterian  Church. 

College  Presbyterian  Church.     (Hampden-Sidney.) 

Jamestown  Presbyterian  Church.     (Rice.) 

5.  Disciples  of  Christ.     Liberty  Church. 
G.     Colored  Churches. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  213 


THE  CHUKCHES  OF  PRINCE  EDWARD 


BAPTISTS  IN  PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY 

The  first  Baptist  Church  established'  in  Virginia,  was  the 
Burleigh  Church  in  Isle  of  Wight  County  (now  known  as 
the  Mill  Swamp  Baptist  Church),  organized  in,  or  about  the 
year  of  1714.     (McClothlin.) 

Long  before  the  Revolutionary  War,  the  Baptists  in  Vir- 
ginia had  reached  considerable  numbers  and  had  acitdnei 
some  prominence  and  prestige. 

The  following  from  the  Manuscript  Journal  of  the  House 
of  Delegates,  1773-1774,  suggests  something  of  the  prominence 
they  had  already  attained : 

Thursday,  the  12th  of  May,  14  George  III.,  1774.— "A 
petition  of  sundry  persons  of  the  community  of  Christians 
called  Baptists,  and  other  Protestant  dissenters,  whose  names 
are  thereto  subscribed,  was  presented  to  the  House,  and  read, 
setting  forth  that  the  toleration  proposed  by  the  bill,  ordered 
at  the  last  session  of  the  General  Assembly  to  be  printed 
and  published,  not  admitting  public  worship  except  in  the 
daytime,  is  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  England,  as  well  as 
the  practice  and  usage  of  the  primitive  Churches,  and  even 
of  the  English  Church  itself :  that  the  night  session  may  some- 
times be  better  spared  by  the  petitioners  from  the  necessary 
duties  of  their  callings,  and  that  they  wish  for  no  indulgences 
which  ma}^  disturb  the  peace  of  Government,"  etc. 

What  action  the  House  took  on  the  Petition  is  not  stated 
in  the  Journal. 

That  they,  at  that  time,  interested  themselves  in  questions 
of  public  moment  is  evident  from  an  Address  presented  by 
them  to  Patrick  Jlenry  upon  the  occasion  of  his  first  eleva- 


214  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

tion  as  Governor  of  Virginia.  Of  all  the  congratulatory  mes- 
sages received  by  him  at  that  time,  probably  none  came  so 
straight  from  the  heart  as  did  this  one  from  the  distressed 
and  persecuted  dissenters  in  Virginia,  called  Baptists,  who 
had  learned,  in  many  an  hour  of  bitter  need,  to  look  upon  him 
as  their  strong  and  valiant  champion,  in  the  Legislature  and 
in  the  Courts.  He  was  not  of  their  persuasion,  being  him- 
self an  Episcopalian,  nevertheless,  on  August  12,  1776,  "the 
ministers  and  delegates  of  the  Baptist  churches"  of  the  State, 
being  met  in  Convention  at  Louisa,  sent  him  the  following 
Address : 

"MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  EXCELLENCY,— As  your 
advancement  to  the  honorable  and  important  station  as  Gov- 
ernor of  this  Commonwealth  affords  us  unspeakable  pleasure 
we  beg  leave  to  present  your  Excellency  with  our  most  cor- 
dial congratulations. 

"Your  public  virtues  are  such  that  we  are  under  no  temp- 
tation to  iiatter  you.  Virginia  has  done  honor  to  her  judg- 
ment in  appointing  your  Excellency  to  hold  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment at  this  truly  critical  conjuncture,  as  you  have  al- 
ways distinguished  yourself  by  your  zeal  and  activity  for 
her  welfare,  in  whatever  department  has  been  assigned  to 
you 

"As  a  religious  community,  we  have  nothing  to  request 
of  you.  Your  constant  attachment  to  the  glorious  cause  of 
liberty  and  the  right  of  conscience,  leaves  us  no  room  to  doubt 
your  Excellency's  favorable  regards  while  we  worthily  de- 
mean ourselves. 

"May  God  Almighty  continue  you  long,  very  long,  a 
public  blessing  to  this  your  native  country,  and,  after  a 
life  of  usefulness  here,  crown  you  with  immortal  felicity  in 
the  world  to  come. 

Signed  by  order:    Jeremiah  Walker,  Moderator. 
John  Williams,  Clerk." 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  215 

To  this  loving  and  touching  address,  the  Governor  re- 
plied, on  the  very  next  day,  in  an  off-hand  letter,  showing 
deep  feeling  and  a  very  natural  gratification: — 

"TO  THE  MINISTERS  AND  DELEGATES  OF  THE 
BAPTIST  CHURCHES,  AND  THE  MEMBERS  OF 
THAT  COMMUNION, 

•'GENTLEMEN, — I  am  exceedingly  obliged  to  you  for 
your  very  kind  address,  and  the  favorable  sentiments  you 
are  pleased  to  entertain  respecting  my  conduct  and  the  prin- 
ciples which  have  directed  it.  My  constant  endeavor  shall 
be  to  guard  the  rights  of  all  my  fellow-citizens  from  every 
encroachment. 

"I  am  happy  to  find  a  catholic  spirit  prevailing  in  our 
country,  and  that  those  religious  distinctions,  which  formerly 
produced  some  heat,  are  now  forgotten.  Happy  must  every 
friend  to  virtue  and  America  feel  himself,  to  perceive  that 
the  only  contest  among  us,  at  the  most  critical  and  important 
period,  is,  who  shall  be  foremost  to  preserve  our  religious 
and  civil  liberties. 

"My  most  earnest  wish  is,  that  Christian  charity,  for- 
bearance, and  love,  may  unite  all  our  different  persuasions, 
as  brethren  who  must  perish  or  triumph  together;  and  I 
trust  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  we  shall  greet 
each  other  as  the  peaceable  possessors  of  that  just  and  equal 
system  of  liberty  adopted  by  the  last  convention,  and  in  sup- 
port of  which  may  God  crown  our  arms  with  success. 

"I  am,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient  and  very  humble 
servant,  P.  Henry,  Jun. 

August  13,  1776" 

(American  Arch.,  i.  905,  906.) 

The  Baptist  churches  of  Prince  Edward  county,  main- 
tain membership  in  the  Appomattox  Association.  This  As- 


216  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

elation  grew  out  of  the  old  Middle  District  Association,  which, 
at  a  meeting  held  at  Rice's  station  (its  second)  on  May  9, 1785, 
sent  out  the  Meherrin,  and  the  Appomattox  Associations, 
itself  retaining  the  name  of  Middle  District  Association. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  newly  formed  Appomattox  As- 
sociation was  held  in  Prince  Edward  county,  at  Wallrer's 
Church  the  same  year.  Four  of  the  churches  forming  the 
new  Association  were  located  in  Prince  Edward ;  viz :  Rocks, 
organized  1772;  Appomattox,  1773;  Sailor  Creek,  1781;  and, 
Mountain  Creek,  1788.  Of  these  four,  only  Rocks  and  Ap- 
pomattox remain,  but  are  now,  by  reason  of  a  later  county 
division,  both  in  Appomattox  county. 

The  meeting  house  of  Sailor  Creek  Church  was  located 
about  one-half  mile  from  Rice  on  the  road  leading  to  Farm- 
ville.  It  was  destroyed  by  a  cyclone  in  1832.  On  August  15, 
1857,  Pisgah  Church,  (Rice)  was  formed  at  Union,  and,  in 
1881  moved  to  their  present  building  at  Rice's  Station.  Pis- 
gah is  thus  the  lienal  descendant  of  Sailor  Creek  Church. 

The  Mountain  Creek  Church  has  passed  out  of  the 
memory  of  the  present  generation.  The  Church  building  is 
supposed  to  have  stood  about  two  and  a  half  miles  northwest 
of  Green  Bay  station,  in  Prince  Edward  county. 

It    is    considered    probable    that    Sandy    River  Church, 
(Sharon)  formed  in  1827,  and  situated  about  five  miles  dis- 
tant, absorbed  the  membership  of  the  Mountain  Creek  Church. 

A  severe  controversy  arose  in  1832-1834,  between  the 
Methodists  and  the  Baptists,  over  the  building  occupied  by 
the  Baptists  at  Sandy  River,  which  ended  by  the  Baptists 
retaining  possession. 

The  following  Baptist  Churches  are  located  in  Prince 
Edward  county: 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  217 

Bagby  Memorial. 

Bethpeor. 

Farmville. 

Mount  Nebo. 

Pisgah.     (Rice) 

Sharon.     (Sandy  River) 

Spring  Creek. 


218  Hhtory  of  Prince  Edward  County 


BAGBY  MEMORIAL  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

For  several  years  prior  to  1903  preaching  services  were 
held  at  a  little  schoolhouse  hard-by  the  site  upon  which  stands 
the  place  of  worship  of  this  congregation.  It  is  known  that 
J.  R.  Doan,  now  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  South 
Boston,  while  pastor  of  the  Burkeville  Baptist  Church,  and 
F.  W.  Moore,  now  pastor  of  the  Second  Baptist  Church, 
Petersburg,  Virginia,  both  went  time  and  again  to  preach  at 
this  school  house.  Especial  interest  was  shown  in  the  spirit- 
ual needs  of  the  people  of  this  neighborhood,  by  Dr.  George 
R.  Bagby,  while  he  was  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at 
Farmville,  Virginia. 

On  April  18,  1903,  Rev.  Dr.  W.  J.  Shipman;  Rev.  W. 
Moseley  Seay ;  and  F.  L.  Overton,  effected  the  organization  of 
a  Baptist  Church  here,  to  be  known  as  the  Bagby  Memorial 
Baptist  Church,  the  name  being  given  in  honor  of  Dr.  George 
R.  Bagby,  of  Farmville.  Mr.  Seay  became  the  first  pastor 
of  the  new  Church.  The  Rev.  W.  B.  Daugherty  followed  Mr. 
Seay  and  served  during  1904-5.  Then  followed  Rev.  Z.  J. 
Edge,  1906;  Rev.  W.  T.  Woodhouse,  1907-8,  returning  to 
serve  from  1910  to  1917.  The  Rev.  Dr.  J.  M.  Pilcher  was 
supply  pastor  for  a  term  of  months  in  1909.  Beginning  No- 
vember 1,  1917,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  E.  White  has  been  the 
pastor. 

The  Church  had  but  few  charter  members  and  was  ad- 
mitted into  the  Appomattox  Association  of  Baptist  Churches 
in  1904. 

The  first  deacons  were :  J.  C.  Moring;  P.  N.  Jenkins;  W. 
V.  Clements;  and  W.  T.  Gibbs.  Its  present  deacons  are:  C. 
L.  Elliott;  G.  P.  Nunnally;  J.  R.  Moring;  E.  P.  Johnson; 
and  A.  Lee  cook. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  219 

The  present  membership  of  the  Church  is  ninety-nine. 

The  Church  building  occupies  a  desirable  and  well  lo- 
cated site,  about  three  and  a  half  miles  from  Burkeville  and 
near  to  the  road  which  leads  from  that  town  to  Farmville, 
and  is  valued  at  about  $850. 

The  Church  was  represented  by  three  of  its  young  men 
in  the  great  war.  Daniel  K.  Harris,  son  of  the  Kev.  D.  J. 
Harris,  went  to  Camp  Lee,  but  was  soon  transferred  to  a 
hospital  suffering  with  tuberculosis.  Later  he  returned  to 
his  father's  home  in  Prince  Edward  county,  and  early  in 
1920,  died  in  Eoanoke,  Virginia. 

James  Oscar  Thompson  enlisted  at  Farmville,  September 
10,  1918,  and  saw  service  in  France. 

J.  Grady  Redfford  entered  Camp  Lee  in  September, 
1917.  In  February,  1919,  he  was  returned  from  France, 
having  been  severely  wounded  in  the  right  shoulder  and  arm. 
He  was  discharged  from  the  hospital  in  August,  1919.  He 
was  with  the  318th  Infantry  Regiment,  80th  Division. 


220  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

FA'RMVII.LE  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

The  Farmville  Baptist  Church  was  organized,  Novem- 
ber 25,  1836,  by  the  Rev.  William  Moore,  who  remained  its 
Minister  from  that  date  until  1840.  In  a  brief  historical 
sketch  by  the  late  Dr.  Peter  Winston,  it  is  noted  that  Sam 
and  Phil  White  (colored)  were  the  first  members  of  the 
Church. 

B.  M.  Robertson;  Frank  Robertson;  W.  Nunnally;  and 
G.  Nunnally  were  the  first  deacons  of  the  Church,  and  the 
following  were  registered  as  charter  members: 

Benjamin  M.  Robertson; 
Mrs.  E.  R.  Robertson; 

C.  E.  Chappell; 
Mrs.  A.  B.  Chappell; 
Miss  Mary  Harwood; 
M.  Grigg; 

Mrs.  Edith  Mann; 

Mrs.  Jane  Williams; 

Granville  Nunnally; 

Mrs.  Betsy  Nunnally; 

Washington  Nunnally; 

Mrs.  Judith  Nunnally; 

Jeremiah  Porter; 

Mrs.  Jeremiah  Porter; 

Reuben  Seay; 

Royall  Godsey; 

Mrs.  Delilah  Godsey; 

Thomas  J.  Valentine; 

Shelton  Davis; 

Mrs.  Mary  Davis; 

Mandy  Porter; 

Samuel  White;   (colored) 

Phil  White;  (colored).    23  in  all. 

The  Rev.  William  Moore,  the  first  pastor,  was  assisted 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  221 

in  the  organization  of  the  Church  by  the  Revs.  Daniel  Witt, 
and  Elijah  Roach. 

The  Church  building  was  finished  within  a  year  and  in 
1837,  was  formally  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Grod,  by  the 
celebrated  Rev.  Daniel  Witt,  whose  remains  lie  buried  in 
the  little  graveyard  of  the  Sandy  River  Baptist  Church, 
some  eight  miles  distant  from  Farmville. 

The  first  Church  building,  a  modest  structure,  continued 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  new  congregation  until  1856,  when, 
during  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  James  Hay,  a  new  building 
was  erected  on  the  present  site,  and  formally  dedicated  in 
February  of  that  year  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  G.  Jones. 

This  second  building  continued  to  serve  the  needs  of 
the  congregation  until  1912,  when  the  present  beautiful  and 
finely  equipped  Church  building  and  Sunday  School  plant 
was  erected  during  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Willis  L. 
Wayts,  and  formally  dedicated  to  Divine  worship  on  Novem- 
ber 1,  1914,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  G.  W.  Ferryman,  of  Norfolk, 
Va.,  who  offered'  the  dedicatory  prayer  and  preached  the  ser- 
mon of  the  day.  Dr.  Ferryman  was  assisted  in  these  im- 
pressive services  by  the  Rev.  H.  M.  Fugate,  a  former  pastor, 
and  by  the  then  pastor,  the  Rev.  Willis  L.  Wayts.  The  total 
cost  of  the  plant,  according  to  a  minute  upon  the  Church 
Register  of  January  3,  1915,  was  $24,033.93,  without  pipe 
organ  and  other  furnishings.  Under  the  same  date  there 
is  an  entry  regarding  a  payment  on  pipe  organ  and  furnish- 
ings of  $1,255.32,  in  a  report  presented  by  Mrs.  (Dr.)  R.  L. 
Hudgins,   treasurer   of   the   Fipe   Organ   Fund. 

From  tlie  completion  of  the  new  Church  building,  the 
congregation  has  enjoyed  an  almost  phenomenal  growth,  so 
that  the  premises  are  already  too  circumscribed  for  the  large 
congregations.  The  property  is  situated  on  Main  Street,  in 
the  very  heart  of  the  business  section  of  the  city. 

The  current  issue  of  the  minutes  of  the  Appomattox  As- 


222  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

sociation  of  Baptist  Churches  gives  the  following  interest- 
ing figures  regarding  this  Church  as  reported  at  the  As- 
sociational  Meeting  held  with  the  Maple  Grove  Baptist 
Church,  July  19-20,  1921 : 

Membership  of  the  Church  504 

Baptisms  for  the  year „ „  56 

Total  new  members  received  during  the  year  101 
Sunday  School  enrollment  397 

Sunday  School  income  » $       430.57 

Church  income,  total  from  all  sources  14,014.00 
Benevolence,  (included  in  above  total)  3,755.62 
Per  capita,   (including  all  depts.) 27.80 

Value  of  Church  building 35,000 

Value  of  parsonage 8,000 

Total. $43,000 

The  following  ministers  have  served  the  Church  since 
its  inception: 

Kev.  William  Moore,  1836-1840.     Organized  the  Church 
and  built  the  first  Church  building,  1836. 

Kev.  James  H.  Fox,  1840-1842. 

Rev.  Thomas  W.  Syndor,  1842-44. 

Rev.  James  W.  Goodman,  1844-1846. 

Rev.  Robert  Nowlin,  1846-1848. 

Rev.  Wiliam   SedlgwicK,    1848i-1849.     Served   only  six 
months. 

Rev.  William  Tyree,  1849-1852. 

Rev.  James  Hay,  1852-1858.     It  was  during  his  pasto- 
rate that  the  second  Church  building  was  erected,  1856. 

Rev.  S.  C.  Boston,  1858-1859. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Huntington,  1859-1862. 

Rev.  Robert  East,  1862-1865. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  223 

Rev.  S.  C.  Boston,  1865-1867.    Second  pastorate. 

Rev.  N.  W.  Wilson,  1867-1869.  Died  of  yellow  fever  in 
North  Carolina. 

Rev.  H.  J.  Handy,  1869-1875.     Died  in  Maryland. 

Rev.  James  Nelson,  D.  D.,  1875-1885.  Was  the  organizer 
of  the  State  Normal  School  for  women,  Farmville,  and  later 
was  President  of  the  Woman's  College,  Richmond,  Va.  Died, 
1921. 

Rev.  W.  F.  Kone,  1885-1891.    Died  in  Kentucky. 

Rev.  George  F.  Bagby,  D.  D.,  1891-1899.    Died  of  cancer. 

Rev.  Samuel  H.  Thompson,  1900-1904.    Died  of  cancer. 

Rev.  R.  A.  McFarland,  1904-1906.    Went  to  Seminary. 

Rev.  J.  D.  Harte,  1906-1907.  Served  for  only  four 
months.    Resigned;  ill-health. 

Rev.  Henry  M.  Fugate,  1907-1911. 

Rev.  Willis  L.  Wayts,  1912-1915.  Resigned;  ill  health. 
It  was  during  his  pastorate  that  the  present  edifice  was 
erected. 

Rev.  Cosby  M.  Robertson,  A.  B.,  B.  D.,  1916-1918.  Re- 
signed to  enter  Navy  as  Chaplain  during  the  Great  War. 

Rev.  C.  Edward  Burrell,  LL.  B.,  D.  D.,  1919.  Came  to 
the  Church  from  Camp  Lee,  where  he  served  as  Chaplain 
during  the  Great  War,  and  is  still  with  the  Church. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Church  (1921)  are: 

Rev.  C.  Edward  Burrell,  LL.  B.,  D.  D.,  Minister. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Cocks,  Clerk. 

R.  C.  Gilliam,  Corresponding  Secretary. 

L.  A.  Smith,  Treasurer. 

C.  A.  Kennedy,  Financial  Secretary. 

E.  L.  Erambert,  Honorary  Deacon. 

J.  A.  Armisted;  E.  W.  Sanford;  C.  M.  Smith;  Anderson 
Ligon;  Frank  Pillow;  Dr.  J.  H.  Cocks;  W.  C.  Fallwell;  T. 


224  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

H.  Fallwell;  K.  W.  Noel;  O.  S.  Mann;  S.  W.  Putney;  L. 
A.  Smith,  Deacons. 

Mesdames  J.  L.  Horner,  R.  W.  Noel;  J.  L.  Putney;  E. 
W.  Ellington:  Colin  Stokes;  J.  A.  Armistead;  W.  P.  Gilliam, 
Deaconesses. 

Mrs.  W.  B.  Hobson,  Organist. 

T.  H.  Fallwell,  Missionary  Treasurer. 

J.  L.  Putney,   Chairman  Finance   Committee. 

William  H.  Crenshaw,  Chairman  Property  Committee. 

G.  S.  Thomas,  Chairman  Missionary  Committee. 

E.  W.  Sanford,  Chairman  Music  Committee. 

Fred  Butcher,  Chief  Usher. 

M.  W.  Whitlock,  Assistant  Chief  Usher. 

R.  C.  Gilliam  and  S.  W.  Putney,  Auditors. 

W.  C.  Fallwell,  Sunday  School  Superintendent. 

This  Church  had  sixteen  (16)  men  in  the  various 
branches  of  the  service  during  the  great  war,   1914-1918. 

The  Rev.  Cosby  M.  Robertson,  B.  A.;  B.  D.,  pastor  of 
the  Church  at  the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  resigned  his  pas- 
torate to  become  Chaplain  in  the  Navy,  in  which  position  he 
served  throughout  the  war,  with  the  rank  of  Captain. 

Dr.  J.  H.  Cocks,  the  Clerk  of  the  Church,  entered  the 
service  with  the  rank  of  1st  Lieutenant.  He  was  later  trans- 
ferred to  the  dental  branch.  He  received  his  commission 
as  Captain,  on  the  field  during  the  fighting  in  the  Argonne 
Woods,  where  he  was  wounded. 

William  H.  Crenshaw,  received  his  commission  as  1st 
Lieutenant,  from  the  Officers  Training  School  but  did  not 
succeed  in  getting  overseas. 

Henry  A.  Kelsey  was  appointed  Sergeant. 

Lawrie  W.  Thompson  was  made  a  Corporal. 

The  following  served  as  Privates :  T.  H.  Crenshaw :  Gtir- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  225 

land  Hurst;  Walter  S.  Overton;  Peter  Kaymond;  Harry  S. 
Thompson;  Gary  M.  Smith,  Jr.;  John  W.  Webster;  M.  Guy 
Smith;  T.  Elbert  Osborne;  F.  L.  Magann;  J.  W.  Mottley;  C. 
M.  Noel. 

All  these  men,  save  Lieutenant  William  H.  Crenshaw, 
and  private  Gary  M.  Smith,  Jr.,  F.  L.  Magann,  and  C. 
M.  Noel,  saw  service  overseas. 

Privates  Guy  M.  Smith,  and  John  W.  Webster  were 
killed  in  action,  and  T.  Elbert  Osborne  died  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  battle. 

The  present  pastor  of  the  Ghurch,  the  Kev.  Gharles 
Edward  Burrell,  LL.  B.,  D.  D.,  was  stationed  at  Gamp  Lee 
during  1918-19  in  the  capacity  of  special  Gamp  Ghaplain. 

One  of  the  women  of  the  Church,  Miss  L.  Wheeler,  saw 
service  overseas  with  the  Red  Gross. 

Throughout  the  war  the  general  attitude  of  the  Church 
was  fervently  patriotic.  All  Federal  requests  for  announce- 
ments and  discourses  were  most  heartily  responded  to. 
Special  prayers  for  soldpers  and  sailors  were  continually 
oifered  and  several  patriotic  services  were  held.  A  service 
flag  was  erected  and  there  was  a  formal  dedication  of  the 
same,  and  the  national  colors  were  displayed.  The  Women's 
Organizations,  together  with  the  Men's  Bible  Class,  co- 
operated in  welfare  work  for  men  in  uniform.  A  special 
memorial  service  for  those  who  died  in  service  was  held. 
Food  conservation  was  urged  from  the  pulpit  and  practised 
by  the  membership  of  the  Ghurch  in  a  general  way,  and  they 
participated  most  heartily  in  the  work  of  war  charities,  both 
at  home  and  abroad,  by  way  of  special  offerings,  collections, 
etc. 

This  Church  was  the  first  in  the  county  to  fittingly  com- 
memorate the  service  rendered  by  the  members  of  its  congre- 
gation in  the  war.    This  was  done  by  the  erection  of  a  suit- 


226  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

able  tablet  in  the  main  auditorium  of  the  building.  Ex- 
cerpts from  the  report  of  the  unveiling  ceremonies,  which 
appeared  in  the  Farmville  "Herald"  of  November  18,  1921, 
follow:  "On  last  Sunday  afternoon  at  3:80,  very  appropri- 
ate services  were  held  at  the  unveiling  of  the  tablet  dedi- 
cated to  the  boys  who  were  in  the  service  durinof  the  late 
war.  A  beautiful  service  was  conducted  by  the  American 
Legion,  accompanied  by  the  Farmville  Silver  Band:  -^^ 
Farmville  Guard  being  the  guard  of  honor.  *  *  *  The 
tablet  is  made  of  white  Rutland  marble,  twenty  inches  wide 
and  four  and  one-half  feet  long.  The  names  of  Millard  G. 
Smith,  John  W.  Webster  and  Thomas  Osborne,  the  three 
boys  from  the  Baptist  Church  who  made  the  Supreme  Sac- 
rifice, are  carved  in  gold.  Those  in  the  service  were,  Revs. 
Robertson  and  Burrell,  J.  H.  Cocks,  W.  H.  Crenshaw, 
Henry  A.  Kelsey,  Lawrie  W.  Thompson,  Thos.  H.  Cren- 
shaw, Raymond  E.  Phillips,  Dallas  G.  Hurst,  Walter  S. 
Overton,  Peter  Raymond,  Henry  S.  Thompson,  Cary  M. 
Smith,  Jr.,  Joel  W.  Mottley,  and  Charles  M.  Noel. 

"The  presentation  address  was  delivered  by  Dr.  J.  D. 
Eggleston,  of  Hampden- Sidney  College,  who  paid  tribute  to 
those  who  had  so  nobly  served  their  countrjs  and  the  many 
who  had  died  to  save  Christianity,  Democracy  and  the  world 
from  the  despotic  heel  of  an  unscrupulous  beast.     *     *     * 

"The  Star  Spangled  Banner  was  rendered  by  the  band, 
following  which  the  American  Legion  Service  was  continued, 
including  acceptance  address  by  Commander  J.  H.  Cocks, 
prayer  of  dedication  by  Chaplain  Burrell,  and  dedication  by 
Commander  J.  H.  Cocks.  The  services  concluded  with  the 
benediction  by  Chaplain  Burrell." 

The  tablet  was  unveiled  by  the  Misses  Lucy  Lee  Webster 
and  Blanche  Smith,  sisters  of  two  of  the  men  who  were 
killed  in  battle. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  227 

Others  to  take  part  in  the  service  were,  the  Rev.  Dr.  E. 
G.  Gammon,  the  Rev.  Dr.  George  Spooner,  and  the  Rev. 
Frederick  Diehl.  The  Baptist  Church  Choir,  Miss  Evelyn 
Barnes,  and  Joseph  A.  Poole,  rendered  special  music. 


228  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

PISGAH  BAPTIST  CHURCH,  RICE 

Only  the  most  meagre  outline  of  the  history  of  Pisgah 
Baptist  Church,  Rice,  Va.,  is  available,  all  Church  records 
prior  to  about  fifteen  years  ago  being  lost.  Much  of  the  in- 
cidental history  regarding  Baptist  work  in  this  section  of 
the  county  is,  however,  given  in  the  general  article  on  Bap- 
test  churches  in  the  county.  The  following  brief  sketch  is 
furnished  by  Mr.  J.  R.  Weaver,  one  of  the  oldest  surviving 
members  of  the  Church. 

Pisgah  Church  was  constituted  at  Union  Church,  in 
Prince  Edward  county,  about  two  miles  east  of  Rice  Sta- 
tion, in  1857. 

Union  Church  was  known  as  a  free  Church,  that  is,  it 
was  free  to  all  denominations.  The  celebrated  Daniel  Witt, 
D.  D.,  was  the  pastor  until  his  death  in  1871. 

1872.    Rev.  S.  J.  Adkins  was  pastor  for  five  or  six  years. 

1878.  Rev.  J.  H.  Newbill  was  pastor  for  two  or  three 
years. 

1880.  Rev.  J.  A.  Leslie  was  pastor  for  about  five  years. 
It  was  during  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Leslie  that  the  Church 
moved  to  Rice  and  erected  a  new  house  of  worship  there. 
They  have  since  then  retained  the  property  then  purchased. 

1886.  Rev.  W.  B.  Haislip  was  pastor  for  two  or  three 
years. 

1889.  Rev.  J.  W.  Wildman  was  pastor  for  about  four 
yeai-s. 

1894.  Rev.  W.  R.  D.  Moncure  was  pastor  for  two  or 
three  years. 

181)G.  Rev.  E.  M.  Dowley  was  pastor  for  two  or  three 
years. 

1898.  Rev.  A.  B.  Rudd  was  pastor  tor  five  months,  re- 
signing to  accept  Missionary  work  in  Porto  Rico. 


Uistory  of  Prince  Edward  County  229 


1898.  Kev.  G.  F.  Bagby,  D.  D.,  was  pastor  for  about 
two  years. 

1901.  Rev.  W.  J.  Shipman  was  pastor  until  his  death, 
August,  1915. 

From  1915  the  Church  was  served  by  supplies  from 
various  sources,  until  1917,  when,  January  1st  of  that  year, 
the  Rev.  Horace  J.  Parker  assumed  the  pastorate,  remain- 
ing until  June  30,  1920.  The  Rev.  George  F.  Cook  assumed 
the  pastorate  on  September  1st,  1920  and  resigned,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1921. 

The  present  Church  officers  are:  Trustees:  J.  S.  Brad- 
shaw,  B.  J.  Olgers,  and  J.  R.  Weaver.  Deacons:  J.  S. 
Bradshaw,  S.  D.  Hubbard,  B.  J.  Olgers,  R.  B.  Walthall,  J. 
R.  Weaver,  and  J.  W.  Bradshaw. 

Treasurer:    S.  D.  Hubbard. 

Apportionment  Treasurer:   J.  S.  Bradshaw. 

Sunday  School  Superintendent:    B.  J.  Olgers. 

Clerk:  J.  R.  Weaver. 

The  following  report  of  the  war  activities  of  the  Church 
was  furnished  the  War  History  Commission,  by  the  then  pas- 
tor, the  Rev.  H.  J.  Parker :  "There  were  seven  men  who  served 
in  the  Army  from  this  Church,  and  their  names  are  as  fol- 
lows: William  T.  Bondurant,  John  C.  Bondurant,  William 
Hester  Bondurant,  R.  Melve  Bradshaw,  Herbert  Guj^  Far- 
lej^  Thomas  Howard  Gamett,  John  Edward  Gamett. 

The  only  one  in  the  Navy  was  James  W.  Wilson,  Jr. 

Herbert  Guy  Farley  saw  active  service  and  was  slightly 
wounded  at  Argonne  Forest.  Thomas  Howard  Garnett  and 
John  Edward  Garnett  also  saw  active  service. 

The  general  attitude  of  this  Church  was  one  of  loyalty 
toward  war  activities.     The  members  united  heartily  in  the 


230  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

National  Prayer  Observance  and  other  Spiritual  activities. 
Federal  requests  for  anouncements  were  frequently  made  by 
the  pastor  at  the  regular  preaching  services.  There  was 
displayed  in  the  main  auditorium,  a  service  flag. 

The  Church  heartily  participated  in  war  charities  at 
home  and  abroad  by  way  of  specal  collections.  Members  of 
the  congregation  strictly  observed  set  rules  in  order  to  con- 
serve food  and  fuel  during  the  war." 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  231 

MOUNT  NEBO  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

This  Church  is  situated  near  the  Abilene  Post  Office,  on 
the  county  line  road,  between  Prince  Edward  and  Charlotte 
counties. 

A  partially  successful  attempt  was  made  to  organize  on 
the  29th  of  November,  1903,  but  the  organization  languished 
until  a  more  thorough  organization  was  effected  on  the  1st 
of  July,  1904. 

The  following  pastors  have  served  the  Church: 

Rev.  J.  B.  Williams;  June,  1904- July,  1906. 

Rev.  George  R.  Pankey;  November,  1906- January,  1910. 

Rev.  J.  E.  Tucker;  March,  1910-May,  1911. 

Rev.  P.  H.  Dalton;  June,  1911- August,  1911. 

Rev.  John  E.  White;  February,  1912- January,  1916. 

Rev.  J.  A.  Barnhardt;  April,  1916-March,  1920. 

Rev.  W.  F.  Hunt;  May,  1920- August,  1920. 

Rev.  G.  A.  Harris,  present  supply. 

The  Rev.  W.  E.  Warren  was  serving  the  field  when  the 
Church  was  organized,  1903. 

Deacons:  J.  R.  Pollard;  J.  W.  Pankey;  T.  B.  Yeamen; 
and  P.  A.  Denton. 

Clerk:   O.  L.  Vassar. 

Treasurer:    C.  E.  Bagby. 

These  officers  are  serving  the  Church  at  the  present  time. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Church  is  72. 

The  following  is  the  charter  membership  list  of  the 
Church  as  of  November  29,  1903: 

T.  B.  Yeamen,  L.  J.  Yeamen,  W.  J.  Yeamen,  E.  T.  Yea- 
men,  J.  R.  Pollard,  J.  W.  Pankey,  J.  W.  Bagby,  J.  W. 
Allen,  D.  C.  Allen,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Pollard,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Bagby, 


232  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Mrs.  Mary  J.  Driskill,  Mrs.  Nolia  Baker,  Mrs.  Lizzie  A. 
Nelson,  Mrs.  Bettie  Womack,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Allen,  Mrs.  D.  C. 
Allen,  Mrs.  Emma  Daniel,  Carrie  Yeamen,  Sallie  Yeamen, 
Pearl  Yeamen,  Mary  Sue  Yeamen. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


SHARON  BAPTIST  CHURCH       (SANDY  RIVER) 

Most  of  the  subjoined  material  respecting  this  splendid 
old  Church  was  supplied  by  Professor  W.  A.  Harris  of  Rich- 
mond University.  The  old  records  of  the  Church  have  all 
been  either  lost  or  destroyed  so  that  recourse  had  to  be  had 
to  the  Baptist  archives  in  Richmond  and  Dr.  Harris  under- 
took an  exhaustive  search  of  the  materials  stored  there.  He 
says  : 

"In  speaking  of  Prince  Edward  county,  Jeter  says :  "The 
eastern,  or  lower,  end  of  the  county  was  quite  destitute  of 
evangelical,  especially  Baptist,  preaching.  Sandy  River 
Church,  an  old  framed,  dilapidated,  but  spacious,  colonial 
house  of  worship,  occupied  a  central  position  in  this  region. 
It  was  open  for  preaching  by  all  Christian  denominations, 
and  was  occupied  alternately  by  Rev.  Jno.  H.  Rice,  D.  D., 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  Rev.  Matthew  L.  Dance,  of 
the  Methodist  Church.  Thither  Divine  Providence  directed 
the  steps  of  Witt.  *  *  *  His  first  sermon  at  Sandy 
River,  as  stated  in  the  Memorial  Discourse  by  Rev.  T.  W. 
Sydnor,  D.  D.,  delivered  before  the  Appomattox  Baptist  As- 
sociation, was  preached  on  the  fourth  Sunday  in  February, 
1827."— Life  of  Daniel  Witt,  by  J.  B.  Jeter,  pp.  146-7. 

"In  1828,  Sharon  is  given,  (in  the  Association  minutes, 
for  the  first  time)  with  Daniel  Witt  as  pastor  and  71  mem- 
bers. In  1829  there  were  84  members,  and  in  1831,  226,  and 
in  1833,  289  members.  The  number  gradually  increased  un- 
til, in  1864  there  were  606  members,  white  and  colored.  From 
then  until  1871  the  members  reduced  to  137.  (Suggestive  of 
the  dire  results  of  the  war. — Ed.) 

"Daniel  Witt  was  pastor  of  Sharon  from  its  organization 
to  his  death,  November  15th,  1871.  Witt  was  succeeded  in 
the  pastorate  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Newbill  in  1872. 


234  Hutory  of  Prince  Edward  County 


"Under  the  caption:  'Concise  View  of  the  Churches,' 
I  find  these  entries  in  the  minutes  of  1834-35: 

1834 — "Sharon  is  one  of  the  most  respectable  churches 
in  the  upper  country.  Since  its  constitution,  and  the  settle- 
ment of  Elder  D.  Witt  among  them,  it  has  been  signally 
blessed.  But  the  sickness  of  the  minister's  wife,  and  the  dis- 
agreeable contentions  with  the  Methodists,  seem  to  have 
stopped  their  onward  progress.  They  report  no  baptisms,  but 
a  dtecrease." 

1835 — "They  are  an  active  people,  forwarding  the  reli- 
gious enterprises  of  the  day.  They  have  a  temperance  Society, 
a  Domestic  Missionary  Society,  a  Foreign  Missionary  Society, 
and  a  Sunday  School." 

"The  following  is  from  Jeter's  life  of  Witt,  pp.  160-61: 
''For  many  years'  says  Dr.  Sydnor,  in  his  Memorial  Dis- 
course, 'he  was  pastor  at  Jamestown,  in  Cumberland,  and 
at  Union  in  Prince  Edward ;  and  for  a  few  years  at  Lebanon, 
in  Nottoway,'  the  two  latter  of  these  churches,  as  well  as 
the  flourishing  Church  in  the  town  of  Farmville,  claimed 
Sandy  River;  or  Sharon;  as  their  mother,  and  Dr.  Witt  as 
the  principal  agent  in  their  organization." 

The  controversy  with  the  Methodists,  referred  to  above  by 
Dr.  Harris,  occurred  in  1832-34,  with  respect  to  the  building 
in  which  they  had  held  their  services  jointly.  During  this 
dispute  a  line  was  surveyed  directly  through  the  building, 
the  Methodists  claiming  one-half  and  the  Baptists  the  other! 
Surely  a  difficult  situation  if  the  brethren  were  to  dwell  at 
peace  in  Zion !  The  Baptists  retained  possession  of  the  prop- 
erty.   The  matter  was  fully  set  out  in  a  pamphlet  of  the  day. 

From  this  Church  there  were  but  three  who  served  in  the 
x\rmy  or  Navy  during  the  world  war;  viz:  Heber  Weaver 
and  Moncure  Weaver  in  the  Army,  and  Carroll  Melvin  Bass 
in  the  Navy.     Heber  Weaver  saw  active  service  in  France. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  235 

The  entire  membership  of  the  Church  responded  in  a 
most  fervent  manner  to  all  war  appeals,  and  in  observance 
uf  all  conservation  regulations. 

As  this  Church  has  been  a  part  of  the  "field"  with  Pis- 
gah  Church  of  Rice,  ever  since  the  days  of  the  saintly  Witt, 
the  same  pastors  have  served  them  both,  therefore  a  list  of 
the  pastors  may  be  found  in  the  sketch  of  the  Pisgah  Church. 

The  present  pastor  of  both  churches  is  the  Rev.  H.  P. 
Dalton,  who  came  to  them,  April  1st,  1922,  from  Boykins, 
Va.,  in  succession  to  the  Rev.  G.  F.  Cook. 

The  officers  of  the  Church  are: 

John  H.  Bruce,  Clerk. 

D.  J.  Weaver,  Treasurer. 

W.  B.  Gates,  Sunday  School  Superintendent. 

J.  J.  Gilliam,  D.  J.  Weaver,  W.  M.  Gilliam,  J.  T.  Bruce, 
C.  M.  Bass,  and  W.  B.  Gates,  Deacons. 


236  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


SPKING  CREEK  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

This  Church  was  organized  in  1823.  Unfortunately,  like 
so  many  other  churches,  this  organization  set  so  little  store 
by  its  earlier  records,  that  they  have  either  been  lost  or  de- 
stroyed. Amongst  its  earlier  ministers,  were  the  noted 
Daniel  Witt,  D.  D.,  and  E.  W.  Roach,  the  last  of  whom 
served  the  Church  for  about  forty  years. 

From  records  at  present  available,  the  following  minis- 
ters have  served  the  Church  since  1875: 

Rev.  J.  H.  Newbill,  July  3,  1875,  to  July,  1877. 
Rev.  S.  J.  Atkins,  July,  1877,  to  July,  1880. 
Rev.  E.  S.  Taylor,  1880-1886. 
Rev.  S.  J.  Atkins,   (second  pastorate)   1887-1888. 
Rev.  W.  B.  Haislip,  March,  1899,  to  October,  1889. 
Rev.  S.  U.  Grimsley,  1890-1892. 
Rev.  J.  H.  Couch,  1892-1903. 
Rev.  J.  B.  Williams,  1903-1910. 
Rev.  W.  A.  Pearson,  1910-1915. 
Rev.  Vernon  TAnson,  1916-1918. 

Rev.  W.  W.  Hamilton,  Jr.,  April  to  August,  1919  (Sup- 
ply). 

Rev.  Elbert  Y.  Poole,  1919-1922. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Vernon  I'Anson  a  com- 
modious parsonage  was  erected,  and  during  that  of  the  Rev. 
Elbert  Y.  Poole,  a  new  and  modern  Church  structure  was 
built  at  an  expenditure  of  a  little  more  than  $20,000. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Church  are: 

Deacons:  E.  D.  Carwile,  B.  L.  Jordan,  Hatcher  Layne, 
A.  L.  Dickerson,  H.  I.  Shorter,  S.  A.  Wilkinson,  and  D.  G. 
Womack. 


HiMory  of  Prince  Edward  County  237 

Clerk:  Kobert  St.  John. 

Sunday  School  Superintendent:    E.  D.  Carwile. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Church  is  303.  Total 
amount  raised  for  all  purposes  in  1921,  $10,482.79. 

The  Church  engaged  heartily  in  all  forms  of  war  work 
during  the  great  world  war.  The  following  members  of  the 
congregation  served  in  various  branches  of  the  service :  Wal- 
ter Chennault,  Frank  Chennault,  Walter  Overton,  J.  J.  Over- 
ton, Jr.,  Paul  Layne,  Hatcher  Layne,  D.  C.  Morris,  W.  C. 
Morris,  Edward  Shorter,  Jr.,  Everett  Garber,  W.  A.  Wat- 
son, Jr.,  Edward  Roach,  H.  E.  Hamilton,  Leslie  Carwile,  W. 
M.  Dickinson,  John  B.  Cobb,  Charles  W.  Putney.  There  were 
no  causalties  in  the  contingent  supplied  by  this  Church. 

(Note:  The  foregoing  sketch  was  furnished  by  the  Rev. 
E.  Y.  Poole,  the  then  pastor  of  the  Church.) 


238  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

BETHPEOK  BAPTIST  CHURCH 

In  1913,  the  Spring  Creek  Baptist  Church  dismissed  a 
number  of  its  members  to  form  the  new  Bethpeor  Church, 
under  the  leadership  of  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Pearson,  then  pas- 
tor of  the  Spring  Creek  Church.  Mr.  Pearson  served  the  two 
churches  until  1915,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev. 
Vernon  I'Anson,  who  served  for  two  years,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Elbert  Y.  Poole,  who  resigned  in  the 
spring  of  1922. 

The  present  membership  of  this  Church  is  79.  In  1921 
the  sum  of  $1,049.37  was  raised  by  them  for  all  purposes. 
W.  H.  Gilliam  is  the  Clerk  of  the  Church,  and  Ray  Mickle 
is  the  Superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School.  The  Chapel 
House  is  valued  at  $2,500. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  239 

THE  ESPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  PRINCE  EDWARD 

The  Espiscopal  Church  of  Virginia  began  with  the  first 
settlement  of  the  first  Colony  in  1607.  It  immediately  en- 
countered immense  difficulties  from  the  scarcity  of  ministers  of 
and  character.  The  clergy  of  England  were  strangely  reluct- 
ant to  undertake  work  in  the  new  mission  field  of  America.  Of 
those  who  did  come,  but  few  were  faithful  and  dtily  qualified 
for  the  station.  Indeed  some  them  were  men  of  very  ques- 
tionable character,  given  to  swearing  and  drunkenness. 

By  Act  of  the  Assembly  of  1755  the  new  Espiscopal 
parish  of  Prince  Edward  county  was  established  under  the 
name  of  Saint  Patrick.  The  county  of  Prince  Edward  had 
been  separated  from  that  part  of  Amelia  in  which  the  parish 
of  Nottoway  was  constituted,  and  the  parish  of  Saint  Patrick 
was  made  to  correspond  with  the  bounds  of  the  new  county 
of  Prince  Edward.  In  1788  the  county  of  Nottoway  was 
established  substantially  on  what  are  its  present  lines.  The 
Act  of  the  Assembly  speaks  of  two  new  churches  being  re- 
cently built  in  the  lower  part  of  Nottoway  Parish,  and  re- 
quires that  the  Nottoway  Parish  refund  a  portion  of  the 
money  which  had  been  raised  from  the  whole  parish  before 
the  division,  for  the  building  of  these  two  churches,  to  the 
new  parish  in  Prince  Edward  county.  Services  were  held  ir- 
regularly until  1779,  when  for  a  time,  Saint  Patrick's  had 
no  representative,  either  clerical  or  lay,  in  any  convention  of 
the  Church.  During  this  initial  period  the  parish  was 
served  in  turn  by  the  Rev.  James  Garden,  and  the  Rev.  Archi- 
bald McRoberts.  During  Mr.  McRoberts'  time  there  were 
three  churches  in  Prince  Edward,  viz:  The  Chapel,  or  Wat- 
kin's  Church,  situated  about  eighteen  miles  from  Prince  Ed- 
ward Court  House,  on  the  Lynchburg  Road;  it  was  this  con- 
gregation that  followed  Mr.  McRoberts  when  he  relinquished 
his  Episcopal  ministry  to  form  an  Independent  Church  in 
1799;  French's  Church,  situated  about  a  mile  from  the  Court 
House ;  and  Sandy  River  Church,  about  eight  miles  from  the 


240  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Court  House  on  the  Petersburg  Road.  None  of  these 
churches  have  survived  to  the  present.  Of  course,  in  these 
early  days,  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia  occupied  the 
same  relation  to  the  Government  as  did  the  Episcopal  Church 
in  England;  it  was  the  established  Church;  all  others  were 
known  as  Dissenters. 

The  decline  of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Prince  Edward 
was  no  doubt  hastened  by  the  defection  of  McRoberts;  the 
questionable  character  of  some  of  its  ministers;  and  the  rise 
of  Hampden- Sidney  College  and  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Certain  family  connections  made  the  decline  certain.  "Thus 
Anne  Michaux,  daughter  of  one  of  the  original  refugees,  and 
who,  having  fled  from  France  on  the  revocation  of  the  Edict 
of  Nantes,  settled  at  Manikin,  married  Richard  Woodson, 
Esq.,  of  Poplar  Hill,  Prince  Edward,  sometimes  called  Baron 
Woodson,  on  account  of  his  large  possessions.  This  lady 
lived  herself  to  a  great  age,  but,  of  a  numerous  off- 
spring, only  two  daughters  survived,  one  of  whom  was  mar- 
ried to  Nathaniel  Venable,  son  of  that  Alvan  Venable  


one  of  the  vestrymen  of  a  parish  in  Louisa;  —  the  other  to 

Francis  Hopkins,  Esq.,  clerk  of  Prince  Edward.  Joseph 

Morton,  the  ancestor  of  the  most  numerous  branch  of  the 
Mortons,  of  Charlotte,  married  a  sister  of  Richard  Woodson. 
The  progenitor  of  the  Mortons  of  Prince  Edward  and  Cum- 
berland, married  a  Michaux.  Other  familes  of  Scots  or 
Scotch-Irish  and  Huguenot  race  were  settled  in  both  coun- 
ties." Thus  the  intermarriage  of  Episcopalians  with  these 
peoples,  mostly  Presbyterians,  was  the  real  basis  of  the  de- 
cline of  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Prince  Edward,  at  this  time. 

The  following  entry  in  the  minutes  of  the  Assemblv  held 
at  the  capital  at  Williamsburg,  November  22,  1781,  is  sug- 
gestive of  the  impending  decline:  "Sundry  inhabitants  of 
Prince  Edward  county  pray  that  all  the  old  vestries  may  be 
dissolved  by  the  Act  of  Assembly  and  new  ones  elected  by 
the  body  of  the  community  at  large.  Dissenters  to  be  equally 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  241 

competent  with  conformists  to  the  post  of  vestrymen,  and  the 
sole  proviso  to  be  'attachment  to  the  present  form  of  govern- 
ment.' Referred  to  the  next  xVssembly,  and,  June  9,  1782, 
rejected." 

The  following  most  interesting  excerpts  are  taken  from 
an  historical  sketch  contained  in  the  Parish  Register  of  John's 
Memoral  Church,  Farmville,  Va.,  and  written  by  the  Rev. 
Philip  Slaughter,  Historiographer  of  the  Diocese,  of  St. 
Patrick  Parish,  and  Witmer  Parish,  Prince  Edward  county. 

"Saint  Patrick  should  not  be  confounded  with  plain  Pat- 
rick Parish,  which  is  in  the  county  of  Henry,  the  latter  county 
and  parish  dividing  between  them  the  honors  of  the  name  of 
the  'Forest-born  Demonsthenes,'  Patrick  Henry.  These  names 
are  redolent  of  the  Revolution  and  of  a  new  era:  Prince  Ed- 
ward and  Saint  Patrick  point  to  the  old  regime,  when  princes 
and  saints  were  above  par.  Prince  Edward  county  was  taken 
from  the  county  of  Amelia  by  Act  of  Assembly,  in  1753,  and 
the  Parish  of  Saint  Patrick  from  the  Parish  of  Nottoway, 
in  1755. 

The  first  vestry  met  at  the  Court  House,  September  9, 
1755.  Present :  Jno.  Nash ;  Jno.  Nash,  Jr. ;  David  Flournoy ; 
George  Walker;  Thos  Scott;  Jno.  Leneve;  James  Wimbish; 
Thos.  Hawkins;  Peter  Legrand;  and  Charles  Venable.  These 
(qualified  by  taking  the  oaths  required  by  law  in  Court,  sub- 
scribing to  the  test,  and  the  promise  of  conformity  to  the 
Doctrine  and  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  England.  — — 
Hugh  Challis  was  chosen  Clerk  and  ordered  to  get  a  book  in 

which  to  record  the  proceedings  of  the  Vestry.     This 

book  lies  before  me,  having  been  found  (among,  the  papers  of 
Nathaniel  Venable,  a  Secretary  of  the  Vestry,  in  Colonial 
times)  by  Mr.  A.  P.  Venable,  and  kindly  sent  to  the  writer. 

The  next  Vestry  meeting  was  at  Sandy  River  Church, 
December  3,  1755.     The  Rev.  James  Garden    (who,  as  ap- 


242  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

pears  in  the  'Lambeth  Archives,'  was  licensed  for  Virginia 
by  the  Bishop  of  London,  September  2,  1754),  produced  a 
letter  from  the  Hon.  Thos.  Dawson,  Commissary  for  Vir- 
ginia, recommending  him  to  this  Parish,  'upon  which,  and 
upon  the  knowledge  of  this  Vestry,  he  is  unanimously  chosen 
Minister/ 

The  Wardens  were  order  to  pay  £250  for  300  acres  of 
land  for  a  glebe  when  they  were  satisfied  with  the  title,  which 
came  originally  from  J.  Morton,  Patentee.  

In  1757  R.  Burk;  Philemon  Holcombe;  Jno.  Graham;  R. 
Woodson;  and  Zachariah  Leigh  were  added  to  the  Vestry,  and 
Nathaniel  Venable  made  Clerk. 

In  1760  Obadiah  Woodson  was  added  to  the  Vestry,  and 
the  keys  of  the  Glebe  houses  were  received  from  P.  Legrand 
and  delivered  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Garden.  The  following  minute 
occurs  at  this  date:  ''Whereas,  the  upper  Church  is  situated 
among  the  Dissenters,  the  Vestry  think  that  service  should 
cease  there  from  this  time.' 

8rd  December,  1761,  the  Vestry  ordered  new  churches  on 
the  land  of  Messrs.  Buchanan  &  Co.,  Merchants  of  Glasgow, 
near  Robin's  Spring;  the  other  near  where  Sandy  River 
Church  now  stands;  dimensions  48  ft.,  by  28  ft.,  and  that 
£100  per  year  be  levied  for  building  these  churches.  1762 
a  chapel  was  ordered  on  O.  Woodson's  land  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  Parish.  Col.  John  Nash  and  P.  Legrand  were  given 
leave  to  build  pews  in  the  upper  Church  with  windows. 
John  Nash,  Jr.,  was  given  leave  to  build  a  gallery  for  his 
family  in  the  upper  Church,  and  John  Leigh,  one  in  Sandy 
River  Church. 

1763.  Three  acres  of  land  were  bought  for  Sandy  River 
Church. 

1766,  Peter  Johnston,  Vestryman,  in  place  of  Woodson, 
deceased. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  243 

1766.  Dials  on  good  posts  were  ordered  at  each  Church; 
service  to  begin  at  11  o'clock  a.  m.;  April  to  October,  and 
at  12  o'clock  the  rest  of  the  year;  and  the  Communion  ad- 
ministered at  Christmas,  Easter,  and  Whitesuntide ;  a  gallon 
flagon,  pint  cup,  and  salver  of  silver,  with  table  cloth  and 
napkin  to  be  provided. 

1772.  'Ordered  that  Peter  Johnston  import  superfine 
crimson  broadcloth,  to  be  made  up  with  silk  lace  and  tassels, 
and  proper  cushions,  for  the  use  of  the  Church.' 

Kev.  James  Garden  died,  I  eb.,  19,  1773.  On  the  IQth  of 
August,  the  Revs.  Moss;  Ogilvie;  Saunders;  and  McCart- 
ney's names  were  before  the  Vestry,  which  chose  the  Rev. 
James  McCartney  'in  consideration  of  the  character  given 
him  bj^  gentlemen  from  North  Carolina.'  At  this  date,  David 
Rice  was  Clerk  (Lay  Reader)  of  Sandy  River  Church,  which 
was  about  eight  miles  from  the  Court  House  on  the  Peters- 
burg Road;  Richard  Byrd  was  Lay  Reader  at  French's, 
sometimes  called  'Middle  Church,'  one  mile  from  the  Court 
House;  and  John  Crockett  of  the  Upper  Chapel  (Watkins) 
about  eighteen  miles  from  the  Court  House  on  the  road  to 
Lynchburg.  "When  the  minister  attended  one  Church,  Lay 
Readers  served  the  others.  Buffalo  Church  had  disappeared 
from  the  record. 

Sandy  River  Church,  after  the  Revolution,  became  the 
source  of  a  bitter  contention  between  the  Methodists  and  the 
Baptists,  the  details  of  which  may  be  seen  in  a  pamphlet 
of  the  day.  The  dispute  was  referred  to  Judge  Bouldin  and 
Mr.  Charles  Smith.    The  Baptists,  I  believe  now  hold  it. 

The  latest  record  in  the  old  Vestry  Book  is  December 
1774;  many  leaves  having  been  torn  out.  We  know  from 
other  sources  that  the  Rev.  Archibald  McRoberts  was  minis- 
ter of  the  Saint  Patrick,  1777-78.  (There  is  a  deed  recorded 
in  Prince  Edward  of  date,  August  14,  1778,  from  Thos. 
Scott;  Benjamin  Haskins;  Thos.  Haskins;  John  Nash;  Peter 


244  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Johnston;  Peter  Legrand;  Philemon  Holcomb;  and  William 
Bibb,  Gentlemen:  Vestrymen  of  Saint  Patricks  Parish,  to 
Archibald  McRoberts,  conveying  500  acres  of  land,  adjoining 
Nathan  Venable  and  Daniel  McGehee.) 

In  1779,  when  the  Church  of  England  was  tottering  to 
its  fall,  he  deserted  the  sinking  ship,  and  set  up  an  'inde- 
pendent' Church  at  the  Upper  Chapel,  which  soon  came  to 
grief,  and  he  joined  the  Presbyterians,  who  were  then  riding 
the  top  of  the  wave  in  Prince  Edward.  Many  Epis- 
copalians became  trustee  of  Hampden- Sidney  College,  and  one 
(Cushion),  at  a  later  period,  presided  over  it.  Two  Presby- 
terian waves;  one  from  Hanover,  and  the  other  from  the 
Valley,  met  and  culminated  in  Prince  Edward,  and  many 
Episcopalians,  (sheep  without  a  shepherd)  were  carried  away 
by  them.  The  Episcopalian  Church  having  never  been  allowed 
to  have  an  American  Bishop  to  watch  over  and  confirm  its 
members  and  ordain  its  ministers,  and  having  now  cut  off 
from  the  Church  of  England,  was  in  a  state  of  supended  ani- 
mation, from  which  many  thought  she  never  would  be  awak- 
ened. 

Rev.  Devereux  Jarrett  of  Bath  Parish,  one  of  the  few 
burning  and  shining  lights  of  that  dark  day,  sought  by  his 
evangelistic  fervor  and  electrical  eloquence  to  keep  alive  the 
smouldering  embers  upon  her  altar.  Outside  of  his  own 
Parish  he  traversed  twenty-nine  counties  in  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina,  lifting  up  his  voice  like  a  trumpet;  pro- 
phesying that  the  old  Church  was  not  dead,  but  sleeping,  and 
would  again  rise  from  the  dust  and  be  a  praise  in  the  land. 
In  1781-82  Jarrett  preached  at  Sandy  River  and  French's. 
Saint  Patrick's  sleep  has  been  long  and  deep;  quite,  or  nearly 

a  century ! One  cannot  but  think  that  the  descendants  of 

the  Woodsons;  Reades;  Venables;  Wimbishes;  Floumoys; 
Scotts;  Nashes;  Goodes;  Haskins;  Leighs;  Legrands;  Hol- 
combes;  Byrds;  Berkleys;  Johnstons;  Bulks,  and  scores  of 
other  names  recorded  in  this  book,  whatever  may  be  their 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  245 

present  connection,  will  look  with  approving  eye  and 

helping  hand  at  the  effort  to  resuscitate  the  Church  of  their 
fathers." 

John's  Memorial  Church,  Farmville,  is  the  only  Epis- 
copal Church  now  surviving  within  the  bounds  of  Prince 
Edward  county. 

Property  is  still  held  for  Church  purposes  on  the  road 
leading  from  Hampden-Sidney  College  to  Pamplins,  on 
which  stands  a  modest  meeting  house  known  as  Saint  Ann's 
Church,  or  Spring  Creek  Mission.  Occasional  service  is  con- 
ducted by  the  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Lacy,  of  Richmond,  Viirginia, 
though  there  is  no  Church  organization  and  no  Church  mem- 
bers there  now.  It  appears  that  a  party  of  English  people, 
from  Dorsetshire,  settled  in  that  part  of  the  county  sometime 
shortly  prior  to  1870,  and  these  gave  land  for  Church  pur- 
poses and  erected  a  modest  building,  and,  among  them,  main- 
tained the  Church.  They  later  returned  to  England  and 
from  there  deeded  the  property  to  the  Church,  as  appears 
from  a  deed  recorded  in  the  Clerk's  Office  at  Farmville,  in 
Book  31,  page  257,  the  purport  of  which  is  that  T.  A.  Homer, 
and  W.  C.  Lacy,  Dorsetshire,  England,  convey  to  John  Sid- 
dons  and  Henry  Jacob  of  Prince  Edward  county,  Virginia, 
trustees  of  the  Spring  Creek  Episcopal  Mission  Fund,  one- 
half  acre  of  land  in  Prince  Edward  county,  and  described  as 
follows :  "Fronting  275  links  on  the  public  road  leading  from 
Hampden-Sidney  College  to  Pamplins  depot,  and  extending 
185  links  back  on  each  side,  being  part  of  the  tract  of  land 
formerly  owned  and  occupied  by  Henry  CoUett,  and  now 
occupied  by  Thomas  Homer."  The  deed  was  signed  by  T.  A. 
Homer,  W.  C.  Lacy,  and  was  dated  May  10,  1874,  and  ac- 
knowledged by  them  in  England  before  one.  Cam  Lyker,  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  on  May  23,  1874. 


246  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

JOHN'S  MEMORIAL   EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  FARM 

VILLE 

The  Church  known  locally  as  Saint  John's  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  but  properly,  John's  Memorial  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church,  was  organized  in  1880,  in  the  house 
then  occupied  by  Mr.  L.  M.  Blanton,  and  now  occupied  by 
Dr.  li.  D.  Whitaker.  For  a  time,  services  were  held  in  the 
Court  House.  During  the  year  of  the  organization;  1880; 
the  present  Church  property  was  purchased,  as  appears  by 
deed  dated  October  1st  of  that  year  and  recorded  on  page 
30  of  book  34,  in  the  land  books  in  the  Clerk's  office.  As 
there  recited,  one-half  acre  of  land  was  conveyed  by  Ellen 
W.  Berkeley,  widow,  through  R.  M.  Dickinson,  Commissioner 
appointed  by  the  Circuit  Court  of  Prince  Edward  county  at 
the  September  term  of  the  court  of  that  year,  to  James  M. 
Johns,  by  Avhom  it  was  conveyed  to  the  members  of  John's 
Memorial  Church  for  purposes  of  public  worship. 

By  the  same  instrument  Alfred  Moth,  L.  M.  Blanton  and 
L.  C.  Irving  were  constituted  trustees  to  the  use  of  the  Church. 
The  price  paid  for  the  land  was  $400. 

The  instrument  is  signed  by: 

R.  M.  Dickinson,  Commissioner; 

Ellen  M.  Berkely; 

J.  M.  Johns; 

Pauline  C.  Johns,  wife  of  J.  M.  Johns. 

The  present  rectory  property  was  acquired  under  a  deed 
dated  March  27,  1883,  and  appearing  on  page  198  of  book 
35,  in  the  Clerk's  office  at  the  Court  House.  No  price  is  stated 
in  the  deed.  The  premises  were  formerly  occupied  by  Col- 
onel R.  A.  Booker,  and  are  located  at  the  corner  of  St. 
George  and  High  Streets. 

Thus  the  efforts  of  several  years,  to  establish  an  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Farmville  were  at  last  being  rewarded. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  247 

In  March  1879,  the  Rev.  Frank  Stringfellow  became 
Kector  of  the  Parish,  and  it  was  as  a  result  of  his  labors  that 
the  Church  was  organized  and  the  Church  property  bought. 
The  first  building  was  erected  under  his  supervision.  He 
Avas  sent  to  Farmville  with  the  hearty  approval  of  Rt.  Rev. 
F.  M.  Whittle,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Virginia,  and  his  short  minis- 
try was  eminently  successful. 

Rev.  F.  D.  Lee  was  his  assistant  for  a  year.  Rev. 
Arthur  S.  Lloyd  was  placed  as  Deacon  in  charge  of  the 
Parish  in  1880.  He  resigned  to  go  to  St.  Luke's,  Norfolk. 
He  was  followed  by  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Ware,  who  resigned  to  go 
to   Saint  James,   Ashland,   Virginia. 

Rev.  Baker  P.  Lee,  deacon,  was  sent  to  the  Parish  in 
1896,  by  the  Bishop.  In  two  years  he  was  followed  by  Rev. 
Walter  B.  Capers,  deacon. 

July  1,  1901.  Rev.  Stephen  O.  Southall  accepted  a  call 
to  the  Parish,  and  took  charge.  April  1.  1903,  he  resigned  and 
accepted  the  Rectorship  of  Bath  Parish,  Dinwiddle  County. 

In  January,  1904,  Rev.  Randolph  Royall  Claiborne  of 
Forest,  Va.,  (Saint  Stephens  Church)  was  called  to  this 
Parish.  March  1st  he  accepted  the  call  and  took  up  the  work, 
which  also  included  the  country  work;  All  Saints,  Grace,  and 
Guinea.  December  25,  1906,  he  resigned  to  go  to  Saint 
Francisville,  La. 

The  Church  then  remained  without  a  rector  until  July 
1st,  1908,  during  the  greater  part  of  which  time  the  Rev. 
George  G.  Matchetts,  (perpetual  Deacon  from  the  Dioscese 
of  Pennsylvania)   acted  as  supply. 

On  July  1st,  1908,  the  Rev.  Dudley  Boogher,  of  Saint  An- 
drewb  Church,  Clifton  Forge,  Virginia,  took  charge  of  the 
work  in  P'armville,  (the  churches  of  Cumberland  county  being 
ministered  to  by  the  rector  of  Powhatan  Court  House)  and 
continued  until  June  5,  1914,  when  his  resignation  was  ac- 


248  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

cepted  that  he  might  take  charge  of  the  Church  of  the  Good 
Sliepherd,  Parkersburg,  W.  Va. 

In  November,  1914,  Rev.  Frederick  Diehl,  rector  of  Saint 
I'aul's  Church,  Wellsboro,  Pa.,  was  called.  He  accepted  the 
call  and  began  his  rectorship,  January  13,  1915.  In  the  mean- 
while the  rectory  was  enlarged  and  much  improved.  Mr. 
Diehl  left  February  1,  1917,  to  take  charge  of  the  Church  of 
the  Good  Shepherd,  Rocky  Mount,  North  Carolina. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Pay  Holbrook,  rector  of  Saint  Andrew's 
Church,  Beacon,  N.  Y.,  was  called  on  May  6,  1917,  and  began 
his  work  in  Farmville,  June  10,  of  that  year.  In  191S  two 
flags  were  placed  in  the  Church;  the  National  Colors  on  the 
Gospel  side  of  the  arch,  and  a  service  flag,  with  ten  stars, 
on  the  Epistle  side.  These  ten  stars  represent  the  following 
sons  of  the  Parish: 

Chaplain  J.  M.  Robeson,  who  was  later  wounded  in  battle. 

Lieutenant  W.  P.  Hazelgrove. 

Charles  R.  Bugg. 

Robert  E.  Warnick. 

John  N.  Garland,  killed  in  action,  October  1918. 

Robert  B.  Rogers. 

Guy  liancaster,  wounded  in  battle. 

Junius  Wilson. 

March  Moffett. 

Haynes  Lancaster. 

In  July,  1918,  four  more  stars  were  added  for 

Roy  Moffett. 

Joseph  A.  Poole. 

M.  B.  Coyner. 

C.  F.  Walker. 

In  September,  1918,  another  star  was  added  for 


History  of  Prince  Edivard  County  249 

Robert  W.  Bugg,  member  of  the  Student  Training  Corps, 
o1   Hampden- Sidney  College. 

Mr.  Holbrook  resigned  on  May  1,  1920,  to  take  charge  of 
the  new  mission  work  in  the  suburbs  of  Norfolk. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Holbrook,  the  Ves- 
try called  the  Rev.  Frederick  Diehl,  rector  of  the  Church  of 
the  Good  Shepherd,  Rocky  Mount,  North  Carolina,  who  ac- 
cepted the  call,  and  began  his  second  rectorship  of  the  Farm- 
ville  Church  on  October  1,  1920. 

The  value  of  the  property,  including  both  the  Church 
and  the  rectory,  is  set  down  as  $19,000. 

The  membership,  in  September,  1921,  was  given  as  95, 
and  the  total  income  from  all  sources,  as  $3,126.()0. 

The  following  are  the  officers  for  the  current  year,  1921 : 

Vestrymen:  Charles  F.  Bugg;  George  M.  Robeson;  J.  L. 
Bugg;  J.  A.  Garland;  A.  T.  Gray;  Fred.  M.  Bugg:  W.  C. 
Newman. 

Senior  Warden:     Charles  F.  Bugg. 

Junior  Warden :   George  M.  Robeson. 

Treasurer:   J.  L.  Bugg. 

Secretary:   J.  A.  Garland. 

Sunday  School  Superintendent:    J.  L.  Bugg. 

President,  Women's  Auxiliary:    Mrs.  W.  C.  Duvall. 

President,  St.  John's  Guild:  Mrs.  J.  A.  Garland. 

President,  Junior  Auxilary:    Miss  lima  Von  Schilling. 

President,  Little  Helpers:    Miss  Virgilia  Bugg. 

Organist:   Mrs.  Roberta  Large. 

Choir  Mother :  Mrs.  Munro  Gordon  Jones. 

President,  Ladies'  Aid  Society:  Mrs.  Carrie  Taliaferro. 

Sunday  School  Teachers:  Miss  Virgilia  Bugg;  Misses 
Edith,  Maud  and  Carrie  Taliaferro;  Miss  Mary  E.  Peck;  Mrs, 
R.  E.  Duvall.  The  Rev.  Frederick  Diehl  teaches  the  Bible 
Class. 


250  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  PRINCE 
EDWARD  COUNTY 

Methodism  was  slow  in  entering  the  State,  following 
after  the  Episcopal,  the  Presbyterians,  the  Quakers,  and  the 
Baptists  had  obtained  a  more  or  less  secure  footing  in  Vir- 
ginia. 

To  the  Rev.  Robert  Williams  belongs  the  honor  of 
planting  Methodism  in  Virginia.  He  was  born  in  England. 
He  had  labored  extensively  in  Ireland.  He  received  from  Mr. 
Wesley  a  license  to  preach  under  the  authority  of  the  regular 
Missionaries  in  the  new  American  Mission  field.  He  was  ex- 
tremely poor,  so  that  his  passage  to  America  was  paid  for  him 
by  a  Mr.  Ashton,  who  came  over  in  the  same  vessel. 

AVilliams  landed  at  New  York  in  the  fall  of  1769.  He 
thus  came  in  advance  of  Messrs.  Boardman  and  Pillmoor.  He 
continued  his  labors  in  the  city  of  New  York  until  the  close 
of  the  summer  of  1771.  In  the  meantime  Boardman  and  Pill- 
moor  had  arrived  in  the  new  world,  having  landed  at  Glou- 
cester Point,  in  New  Jersey,  on  the  24th  of  October,  1769, 
from  whence  they  went  to  Philadelphia.  Williams  visited 
Philadelphia  and  received  a  general  license  to  travel  and 
preach,  from  the  hands  of  Pillmoor.  After  a  visit  with 
Strawbridge,  the  father  of  Methodism  in  Maryland,  he,  in 
the  spring  of  1771,  returned  to  New  York  city. 

The  date  of  the  beginning  of  Williams'  work  in  Virginia, 
is  1772,  when  early  in  that  year,  he  landed  at  Norfolk,  and 
at  once  opened  his  mission.  He  preached  his  first  sermon  at 
the  door  of  the  Court  House  in  that  city.  He  mounted  the 
steps  and  sang  a  hymn,  which  resulted  in  a  curious  crowd 
gathering  to  see  what  it  was  all  about.  The  hymn  finished, 
he  knelt  where  he  was  and  prayed.  He  then  announced  his 
text  and  proceeded  to  preach  to  a  most  disorderly  crowd  of 
people,  quite  unused  to  such  a  spectacle.  Owing  to  the  ex- 
treme plainness  of  his  diction,  he  was  charged  with  "swear- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  251 

ing."  This  grew  out  of  his  frequent  use  of  the  words :  "hell," 
"devil,"  "damned,"  etc.  He  was  voted  "crazy"  by  the  frivol- 
ous people  who  heard  him. 

However,  a  few  hearts  were  touched,  and  these  sincere 
people  received  him  into  their  homes  and  cared  for  him. 

"The  tree  of  Methodism  was  thus  planted  in  an  uncon- 
genial soil,  but,  watered  from  on  high,  it  struck  its  roots 
deep,  and  put  forth  goodly  branches,  bearing  much  fruit." 

After  this  beginning  in  Norfolk,  Williams  went  over  to 
Portsmouth  and,  under  a  couple  of  persimmon  trees,  preached 
the  first  Methodist  sermon  ever  heard  in  that  town.  Among 
those  converted  under  his  ministry  in  Norfolk,  was  Isaac 
Luke,  a  citizen  of  Portsmouth,  and  a  member  of  the  Epis- 
copal Church,  who  invited  him  to  come  over  to  Portsmouth, 
and  who  befriended  him  in  his  work  in  the  two  cities. 

As  to  how  long  Williams  continued  his  labors  in  Nor- 
folk and  Portsmouth,  we  have  no  accurate  information,  but, 
in  the  fall  of  1772,  he  was  joined  in  his  work  there  by  Wil- 
liam Watters,  who  accompanied  him  on  his  return  from  a 
visit  to  Maryland.  On  their  journey  from  Baltimore  to  Nor- 
folk, the  two  held  a  meeting  at  King  William  Court  House, 
in  the  home  of  a  Mr.  Martin  who  had  kindly  entertained  them 
overnight.  Along  the  entire  route  of  three  hundred  miles, 
they  preached  at  every  convenient  place  and  opportunity, 
finding  everywhere  an  appalling  lack  of  "experimental  relig- 
ion." They  were  the  first  Methodist  preachers  who  ever 
passed  through  this  part  of  the  new  world. 

Weary  and  worn  with  toil,  they  at  length  reached  Nor- 
folk to  take  up  again  the  work  begun  there.  They  found  the 
field  a  most  difficult  one.  After  spending  the  winter  of  1772 
in  Norfolk  and  vicinity,  Williams  went,  in  February,  of 
1773,  to  Petersburg,  and  introduced  Methodism  officially  into 
that  town.    He  was  invited  there  by  two  citizens  of  the  place 


252  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

whose  names  will  ever  remain  identified  with  the  beginnings 
of  Methodism  there;  Gl^essett  Davis  and  Nathaniel  Young. 
As  elsewhere,  so  here,  the  other  denominations  were  found 
fairly  well  entrenched.  Williams  preached  his  first  sermon  in 
the  theatre,  which  had  been  opened  for  religious  services 
through  the  instrumentality  of  Davis  and  Young. 

After  laboring  in,  and  about  the  town  for  several  weeks 
with  but  little  to  encourage  him,  Williams  was  furnished  a 
horse  by  his  two  young  friends  and  set  out,  in  true  Methodist 
fashion,  to  preach  in  the  country  round  about  the  city.  In 
a  short  time  a  generous  revival  rewarded  his  work  in  the 
country,  which  was  destined  to  spread  Methodism  over  every 
part  of  the  State  of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  In  this 
part  of  the  State,  Williams  was  much  encouraged  in  his 
work  by  the  sympathy  of  Archibald  McRoberts  and  Dever- 
eux  Jarratt,  ministers  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 

On  the  14th  of  July,  1773,  the  first  American  Conference 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  assembled  at  Philadel- 
phia, when  the  whole  number  of  members  was  reported  as 
1160,  viz:  New  York  180,  Philadelphia  180,  New  Jersey  200, 
Maryland  500,  Virginia  100.  Six  circuits  were  formed  and 
ten  preachers  appointed.  Virginia  appears  in  this  entry: 
"Norfolk,  Richard  Wright;  Petersburg,  Robert  Williams." 

The  whole  of  1773  was  spent  by  Williams  in  preaching 
and  forming  Societies  in  that  part  of  the  State  south  of 
Petersburg,  during  which  time  the  Lee  family  was  received 
into  the  Society;  Jesse  Lee  being  a  conspicuous  representa- 
tive of  that  noble  family. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1775,  this  splendid  "soldier 
of  the  Cross"  entered  into  "that  rest  that  remaineth  for  the 
people  of  God."  In  his  "Journal"  Bishop  Francis  Asbury 
thus  refers  to  the  event :  "Tuesday  26,  Brother  Williams  died. 
The  Lord  does  all  things  well;  perhaps  Brother  Williams 
was  in  danger  of  being  entangled  in  wordly  business,  and 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  253 

might  thereby  have  injured  the  cause  of  God.  So  he  was 
taken  away  from  the  evil."  On  Thursday,  Bishop  Asbury 
preached  his  funeral  sermon.  Every  trace  of  the  burial  place 
of  this  pioneer  of  American  Methodism  has  been  lost.  Not 
even  the  rudest  stone  is  left  to  mark  his  resting  place. 

Robert  Williams  preached  the  first  Methodist  sermon 
on  Virginia  soil;  formed  the  first  Methodist  Society;  printed 
the  first  Methodist  book;  was  the  first  Methodist  Minister  to 
marry;  aided  in  building  the  first  Methodist  Church  build- 
ing; made  out  the  plan  for  the  first  Methodist  circuit;  was 
the  first  Methodist  minister  to  "locate;"  the  first  to  die;  the 
first  to  be  buried  in  Virginia  soil;  and  was  the  first  Metho- 
dist preacher  to  enter  heaven  from  Virginia!  A  pioneer  in 
things  Virginian,  surely! 

At  the  Christmas  Conference,  held  in  Baltimore,  Decem- 
ber 25,  1784,  the  Methodist  Societies  definitely  took  the  form 
of  a  Church  organization,  in  the  strict  and  proper  sense,  with 
the  title,  "The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  Francis  As- 
bury and  Thomas  Coke  were,  at  this  time,  elected  to  the 
office  of  "Superintendents  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  America,"  the  first  in  a  long  and  honorable  line. 

The  "O'Kelly  Schism"  that  had  so  long  agitated  the 
body,  and  that  finally  culminated  in  the  "Christian  Church;" 
the  body  possessing  the  proper  legal  right  to  the  use  of  that 
title;  came  to  a  head  at  the  Baltimore  Conference  of  Novem- 
ber 1st,  1792,  when  O'Kelly  and  his  immediate  adherents 
withdrew  from  the  Conference  to  establish  the  "Republican 
Methodist  Church,"  as  it  was  at  the  first  called.  In  1801, 
O'Kelly  changed  the  name  of  his  party,  by  formally  re- 
nouncing the  first  name  chosen  and  announcing  the  new 
name  to  be  "The  Christian  Church." 

The  question  of  slavery  agitated  the  Methodist  Church 
long  before  it  became  a  national  question  under  the  impulse  of 
northern  propaganda,   and  many  efforts  were  made  by  the 


254  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

young  Church  to  stamp  it  out,  at  least  in  as  far  as  it  affected 
Methodists.  The  movement  that  ultimately  resulted  in  the 
emancipation  of  the  slaves,  was  in  reality  a  southern  move- 
ment, in  which  the  Methodists  had  an  high  and  honorable 
part,  later  taken  up  by  northern  agitators.  At  the  annual  Con- 
ference, held  at  New  Bern,  N.  C,  February  10,  1813,  the  fol- 
lowing series  of  resolutions  were  adopted: 

"1.  The  preachers  shall  instruct  the  colored  people  in 
the  principles  and  duties  of  religion. 

2.  To  search  out  and  pay  particular  attention  to  all 
the  classes  of  colored  people  in  the  bounds  of  their 
stations   and   circuits. 

3.  If  any  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church  be  found  guilty 
of  carrying  on,  directly  or  indirectly,  the  trade  of 
slave  speculation,  he  or  she  shall  be  expelled  the 
Church."  Bishops  Asbury  and  McKendree  presided 
over  this  Conference. 

The  first  instance  on  record  of  the  elevation  of  a  colored 
man  to  ministerial  orders  by  the  Virginia  Conference,  oc- 
curred at  the  Petersburg  Conference  of  the  18th  of  March, 
1824,  when  David  Payne,  of  Richmond,  a  free  man  of  color, 
was  graduated  to  the  office  of  Deacon.  Payne  subsequently 
went  to  Liberia  as  a  missionary,  where  Tie  died  at  his  post 
of  duty. 

Methodism  was  slow  in  taking  root  in  Prince  Edward 
County.  While  great  progress  was  being  made  in  virtually 
all  the  surrounding  counties.  Prince  Edward  seemed  to  re- 
main comparatively  neglected  until  a  rather  late  date.  This 
was  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  in  the  east  and  west 
journies  of  the  Apostle  of  Methodism,  Francis  Asbury,  and 
his  co-workers,  the  line  of  travel  seemed  to  take  them  either 
to  the  north,  through  Dinwiddle,  Amelia,  Buckingham ;  or  to 
the  south,  through  Brunswick,  Lunenburg,  Charlotte.    What- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  255 

ever  may  have  been  the  cause,  it  remains  a  fact  that  Prince 
Edward  Coimty  appears  but  rarely  in  the  earlier  records 
of  the  Church.  In  1805,  on  their  journey  to  the  Conference 
at  Granville  County,  N.  C,  the  two  veterans,  Francis  As- 
bury  and  Richard  Whatcoat,  passed  through  Prince  Edward 
County,  doubtless  exhorting  the  saints  on  their  way.  At  a 
later  date,  while  Presiding  Elder  of  the  Meherrin  District, 
the  celebrated  John  Early  held  a  remarkable  Camp  Meeting 
at  Prospect,  where,  it  is  said,  that  in  seven  days  about  one 
thousand  persons  professed  conversions. 

In  a  mere  sketch  of  such  a  mighty  movement,  it  is  ob- 
viously quite  out  of  the  question  to  go  into  details,  hence  the 
progress  of  Methodism  in  the  County  will  be  best  followed 
through  the  brief  historical  sketches  of  the  local  churches 
of  the  county. 


256  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHUKCH  SOUTH, 
FARMVILLE 

The  following  sketch  of  the  early  history  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  Fannville,  was  made  by  the  Rev.  Staunton  Field, 
November  7,  1846,  and  is  to  be  found  in  an  old  Registry  Book 
of  the  Church : 

"A  brief  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism 
in  this  place  may  not  be  without  interest  and  importance 
for  future  reference  when  the  present  generation  shall  have 
passed  away. 

Up  to  the  year  1833  this  was  merely  a  casual  preaching 
place  for  the  Methodist  Ministry.  In  that  year,  under  the 
administration  of  the  Gospel,  by  that  evangelical  and  zealous 
Minister,  the  Rev.  William  B.  Rowzer,  who  had  charge  of  the 
Prince  Edward  Circuit,  the  first  class  was  formed,  and  Meth- 
odism formally  introduced  and  established.  Frqm  this  time 
Farmville  appeared  upon  the  plan  of  the  Prince  Edward 
Circuit,  up  to  the  "Great  Revival,"  as  it  was  called,  of  1837. 

It  seems  from  the  best  information  we  can  obtain,  though 
it  appears  somewhat  remarkable,  that  the  first  house  of  wor- 
ship was  commenced  in  1831,  and  completed  in  '32;  a  year 
previous  to  the  formation  of  the  first  class.  The  Rev.  John 
Early  was  at  this  time  Presiding  Elder  of  the  District,  then 
included  in  the  Lynchburg  District,  through  whose  active  in- 
strumentality, no  doubt,  the  building  was  commenced  and 
finished. 

In  the  year  1837,  as  above  mentioned,  under  the  ministry 
of  the  Rev.  John  W.  Childs;  Dr.  A.  Penn,  Presiding  Elder, 
it  pleased  Almighty  God  to  visit  the  infant  Church  here,  with 
a  powerful  and  sweeping  revival.  The  meeting  was  con- 
tinued from  day  to  day  successively,  for  several  weeks,  and 
resulted  in  the  conversion  of  many  souls.  It  may  be  recorded 
as  a  remarkable  fact,  that  the  store  doors  were  closed,  and 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  257 

business  generally  suspended,  during  the  exercises  of  the 
meeting.  This  circumstance  will  go  to  show  the  extraordi- 
nary character  of  that  revival,  and  is  a  lasting  memorial  of 
the  deep  and  pervading  interest  which  must  have  been  experi- 
enced by  the  whole  community.  Many  who  are  on  their  way 
to  Heaven,  and  some  who  have  already  reached  that  happy 
place,  will,  throughout  the  dateless  periods  of  eternity,  look 
back  upon  that  occasion  as  the  brightest  era  in  their  existence. 

This  revival  so  fully  and  firmly  established  Methodism 
here,  that  the  brethren,  believing  that  it  would  be  important  to 
its  further  prosperity  and  success,  requested  to  be  set  off  as  a 
station,  distinct  from  the  Circuit,  which  was  accordingly 
done  in  the  following  year,  and  the  Rev.  Jesse  Powers  was 
appointed  the  first  stationed  Minister  in  this  place.  By  his 
zeal  and  piety  as  a  Christian  Minister,  and  especially  as  a 
Pastor,  the  station  was  sustained,  and  abundantly  blessed  of 
the  Lord. 

The  following  year,  1839,  the  church  being  too  small,  in 
the  estimation  of  many,  and  without  a  suitable  place  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  colored  people,  it  was  thought  advis- 
able that  a  new  and  more  commodious  house  should  be  erected. 
Accordingly,  the  present  house  of  worship  was  commenced  in 
'39  and  completed  in  1840. 

The  Rev.  George  W.  Blain,  of  precious  memory,  suc- 
ceeded Bro.  Powers,  and  at  the  Conference  of  1840,  which 
assembled  in  this  place,  was  returned  in  charge  of  the  station. 
With  alternate  successes  and  reverses,  the  cause  of  Metho- 
dism moved  on,  without  any  great  display  of  Divine  power 
in  the  conversion  of  souls,  up  to  the  year  '42,  at  which  time, 
under  the  administration  of  the  Rev.  Jacob  Manning,  Pastor, 
and  the  Rev.  H.  B.  Cowles,  Presiding  Elder,  the  Church 
was  again  visited  with  a  "season  of  refreshing  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord."  Many  valuable  members  of  the  Churph 
were  brought  in  at  that  time,  and  many,  we  trust,  will  remain 
pillars  in  the  temple  of  the  Lord,  to  go  out  no  more  forever. 


258  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

The  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Jones  succeeded  Bro.  Manning  in 
the  charge  of  the  station.  Nothing  of  special  interest  oc- 
curred during  this  year.  There  were  some  few  conversions 
and  accessions  to  the  Church.  The  Rev.  J.  L.  Knight  was 
the  next  preacher  in  charge  of  the  station  for  the  year  1845. 
There  was  no  revival  this  year  and  no  incident  which  we 
have  gathered  up  worth  recording.  These  are  some  of  the 
most  prominent  circumstances  and  events  connected  with  the 
gi'owth  of  Methodism  in  this  place,  set  forth  hastily  and  in 
the  most  simple  and  unvarnished  manner,  and  may  serve, 
if  for  no  other  purpose,  to  give  some  data  upon  which  to  con- 
struct a  more  comprehensive  and  extended  account,  by  some 
more  able  or  competent  pen."  g^  FIELD 

Farmville,  Nov.  7,  1846. 

In  connection  with  the  notable  fact,  cited  by  the  above 
historian,  that  the  first  building  was  erected  before  the  formal 
organization  of  the  Church,  the  transfer  of  the  property,  lot 
19,  in  the  plan  of  the  Village  of  Farmville,  from  James 
Madison  and  Susan  his  wife,  to  Thomas  Scott,  John  A.  Scott, 
John  Clarke,  Nathaniel  Jackson,  Charles  Venable,  Joseph  E. 
Venable,  and  Thomas  Almond,  Trustees  of  the  M.  E.  Church, 
South,  is  recorded,  under  date  of  February  6,  1833,  in  Book 
21,  at  Page  183,  in  the  Registry  Office  in  Farmville.  The 
consideration  was  the  sum  of  $150.  The  Church  has  re- 
tained the  original  site  to  the  present  day. 

The  membership  in  1846  had  reached  the  respectable  total 
of  118,  many  of  whom,  however,  were  colored.  Both  white 
and  colored  were  members  of  the  same  Churches  in  those 
days.  Discipline  was  very  rigorously  enforced  as  evidenced 
by  notations  set  opposite  many  names,  such  as:  "Expelled 
for  dancing;"  "Expelled  for  intemperance;"  "Withdrawn  in 
preference  to  standing  a  trial." 

The  following  note  occurs  during  the  ministry  of  the 
Kev.  Frank  Stanley,  1860:    "I  leave  Farmville  tomorrow  for 


Hhtory  of  Prince  Edward  County  259 

Conference,  and  have  transferred  from  the  Richmond  Church 
Advocate,  my  letter  of  22nd  of  last  March,  and  have  only 
time  to  record  my  sense  of  gratitude  to  God  and  my  thanks 
to  all  the  members  of  this  Station,  and,  indeed  to  all  the 
people,  for  their  uniform  kindness  to  myself  and  family;  for 
the  ample  support  they  have  given  us,  notwithstanding  they 
have  this  year  expended  about  $4,000  in  improving  the  Church, 
have  paid  the  Conference  Collection,  and  given  liberally  for 
missions  and  to  the  poor.  This  has  been  one  of  the  happiest 
and  most  successful  years  of  my  ministry.  This  book  will 
show  a  large  increase  of  members.  May  God  make  them  per- 
fect in  holiness  and  keep  them  all  blameless  unto  the  Day 
of  Christ.  I  pray  my  (unknown)  successor  not  to  let  the 
numerous  Class  of  colored  Catechumens  be  neglected." 

FRANK  STANLEY, 
Farmville,  14,  Nov.,  1860. 
The  membership  at  this  time  was  155. 

List  of  Ministers  With  Notes 

1838.  Jesse  H.  Powers. 

1839.  George  M.  Blain. 

1840.  Benjamin  B.  Miles. 

1841.  Jacob  Manning. 

1842.  Thomas  H.  Jones. 

1843.  Wm.  J.  Norfieet.     Deceased,  Jany.  1881. 

1844.  J.  L.  Knight. 

1845.  Stanton  Field. 

1846.  Wm.  H.  Rohr. 

1847.  J.  C.  Garlick. 

1848.  J.  D.  Blackwell. 

1849.  J.  C.  Newberry. 

1850.  Josephus  Anderson. 

1851.  Josephus  Anderson. 

1852.  Oscar  Littleton. 

1853.  Charles  H.  Hall.    Died,  1872. 


260  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

1854.  Wm.  W.  Berry. 

1855.  Joseph  J.  Edwards. 

1856.  Joseph  S.  E.  Clarke. 

1857.  Joseph  S.  R.  Clarke. 

1858.  John  S.  Rees.    Died  in  1861. 

1859.  Frank  Stanley. 

1860.  Nelson  Head. 

1861.  Nelson  Heal.     Died  in  Baltimore  Conference  1903. 
1862-1865.     Wm.  E.  Judkins. 

1865-1866.    Jacob  H.  Proctor. 

1866-1867.  C.  C.  Pearson.  Left  the  Church  for  Epis- 
copal. 

1867-1869.  Oscar  Littleton.  Died  July  31,  1910.  Buried 
at  Farmville.  For  60  j^ears  a  member  of  the  Virginia  Con- 
ference. 

1869-1870.  Wm.  E.   Edwards.    Died  in  1902. 

1870-1872.  F.  M.  Edwards. 

1872-1873.  George  M.  Langhorne. 

1873-1876.  James  F.  Twitty,  D.  D. 

1876-1880.  Leonidas  Rosser,  D.  D. 

1880-1882.  Joshua  Hunter. 

1882-1886.  Wesley   C.   Vaden. 

1886-1889.  W.  E.  Evans,  D.  D. 

1889-1890.  T.  McN.  Simpson,  D.  D. 

1891-1894.  James  Cannon,  Jr.,  D.  D.  Later  Bishop. 

1894.  R.  H.  Bennett,  D.  D.   (3  months.) 

1894-1895.  G.  W.  Wray. 

1895-1899.  T.  McN.  Simpson,  D.  D. 

1899-1901.  J.  S.  Hunter. 

1901-1903.  T.  N.  Potts,  D.  D. 

1903-1905.  J.  B.  Winn,  D.  D. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  261 

1905-1909.  S.  C.  Hatcher,  D.  D. 

1909.  W.  T.  Green. 

1910-1911.  W.  K.  Proctor. 

1911-1912.  W.  G.  Porter. 

1912-1913.  S.  A.  Donahoe. 

1914-1916.  G.  H.  Lambeth,  D.  D. 

1916-1919.  Jno.  T.  Bosman,  D.  D. 

1919.  G.   H.   Spooner,  D.   D. 


This  Church  had  in  the  various  branches  of  the  service 
during  the  Great  War,  forty  men. 

Captain  H.  IT.  Hunt  went  overseas  as  Captain  of  a  Com- 
pany from  Farmville,  served  at  the  front  and  was  made 
Major. 

Dr.  C.  B.  Crute  volunteered,  June  21st,  1917,  and  was 
appointed  1st  Lieutenant  in  the  Medical  Department,  and 
was  attached  to  the  British  Forces  overseas  and  was  promoted 
to  be  Captain.  He  saw  service  in  France,  Belgium,  Italy, 
Egypt  and  India.  After  two  years  service  overseas,  he  re- 
turned to  America,  and  was  stationed  at  Fort  Whipple  Bar- 
racks in  Arizona,  and  later  was  transferred  to  Fort  Mc- 
pherson, in  Georgia,  from  whence  he  received  his  discharge 
and  returned  to  Farmville  to  re-enter  his  profession  as  a 
private  citizen. 

Dr.  T.  G.  Hardy  volunteered  in  June,  1917,  and  saw  ser- 
vice overseas  as  1st  Lieutenant  in  the  Medical  Department 
in  France,  both  at  the  front  and  in  hospital  work.  He  was 
discharged  in  January  1919,  and  resumed  his  private  practice 
in  Farmville. 

Dr.  J.  S.  Burger  enlisted  in  the  Medical  Department  with 
the  rank  of  1st  Lieutenant,  and  served  at  Camp  Meade 
throughout  the  war. 


262  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Paul  Barrow  enlisted  in  the  Navy  and  died  in  Hampton 
Roads  of  pneumonia. 

Walker  Paulett  enlisted  as  private,  and  was  promoted 
to  be  1st  Lieutenant  and,  in  the  fight  in  the  Argonne  Woods, 
led  his  company  for  many  days  with  conspicuous  bravery. 

Edward  Davis  enlisted  as  a  private,  was  promoted  to 
be  Sergeant  and,  when  all  his  superior  officers  were  killed, 
wounded  or  captured,  led  his  Company,  reduced  to  a  hand- 
ful, for  days  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 

Emerson  Jarman  volunteered  early  and  was  assigned  to 
the  regular  army,  and  promoted  to  be  1st  Lieutenant.  He 
did  not  get  overseas. 

Joseph  Jarman,  James  Cowan,  Mack  Cowan,  F.  Law- 
rence Orange,  James  Lipscomb,  Henry  Wood,  Zenas  Chap- 
pell,  Walker  Drummeller,  and  Howard  Whitlock,  saw  ser- 
vice in  the  ranks  overseas. 

Willard  Hart  saw  service  overseas  as  an  expert  marks- 
man with  the  Marines. 

T.  A.  Gray,  Jr.,  C.  B.  CoUyer,  R.  H.  Paulett,  and  Gates 
Richardson,  saw  service  with  the  Aviation  Corps,  but  did 
not  get  overseas. 

John  Foster  saw  service  with  the  Wireless  Department 
overseas. 

Walter  Gray  got  as  far  as  England,  but  did  not  succeed 
in  getting  to  the  trenches. 

E.  A.  Chappell,  J.  H.  Lewis,  Jr.,  F.  L.  Carter,  Harry 
Mottley,  John  A.  Morris,  Wallace  Duvall,  Lewis  Whitlock, 
and  C.  B.  Cunningham  saw  service  in  the  homeland. 

Womack  Gray  was  detained  in  America  in  preparation 
for  work  in  the  Medical  Department. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  263 

O.  H.  Whitten  saw  service  in  the  navy  but  did  not  suc- 
ceed in  getting  overseas. 

Among  the  Student  Army  Training  Corps,  were  W.  P. 
Vienable,  Jr.,  J.  B.  Wall,  Jr.,  Archer  Paulett,  Reginald  Ven- 
able,  and  Ernest  Garland. 

Judge  J.  M.  Crute,  from  whose  article  this  sketch  is  made, 
says:  "At  this  late  date  (March  19,  1920),  with  all  the 
records  turned  in,  it  is  impossible  to  give  a  correct  report. 
Several  of  those  across  the  sea  were  promoted  to  Sergeants 
and  Corporals,  who  enlisted  as  privates." 

Dr.  T.  G.  Hardy,  Dr.  J.  L.  Jarman,  Mrs.  J.  L.  Jarman, 
Mrs.  T.  G.  Hardy,  E.  S.  Martin,  and  Dr.  J.  M.  Lear,  were 
prominent  in  the  work  of  the  Red  Cross  in  the  county. 
The  work  of  Mrs.  Jarman  with  the  women  of  the  county  was 
a  notable  contribution  to  the  work  of  the  Prince  Edward 
Chapter  of  the  American  Red  Cross. 


264  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

THE    METHODIST    EPISCOPAL    CHURCH    SOUTH, 
PROSPECT.— OLIVE  BRANCH  CIRCUIT 

This  is  the  oldest  M.  E.  Church  organization,  in  what  is 
now  Prince  Edward  county  and  is  composed  of  two  preach- 
ing appointments  in  the  county,  viz:  Prospect  and  Olive 
Branch.  It  is  the  mother  of  Methodism  in  the  county.  Orig- 
inally it  was  attached  to  the  Lynchburg  Circuit. 

The  Church  organization  was  in  existence  for  some  con- 
siderable time  before  the  property  was  secured,  as  a  meet- 
ing house  was  already  upon  the  land  purchased  for  Church 
purposes  by  the  Society  in  Prospect,  July,  14,  1820.  The 
land  then  purchased  consisted  of  one  acre  and  was  conveyed 
by  Robert  Venable  to  Charles  Venable,  William  Johnston, 
David,  Anderson,  Jesse  Bradjey  and  Samuel  Yenable,  in 
trust  for  the  M.  E.  Church,  for  Church  purposes.  (See  Deed 
Book  IIT,  page  139,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  at  Farmville.) 

Approximately  the  same  situation  obtained  at  Olive 
Branch  appointment,  a  meeting  house  being  alread}?^  upon 
the  property,  and  in  use  for  Church  purposes,  prior  to  the 
actual  acquisition  of  the  land  by  the  Society.  The  property, 
one  acre  and  building,  was  conveyed  by  Benjamin  Boatwright 
and  his  wife,  Mary  W.  Boatwright,  to  Rev.  William  Johnson, 
Rev.  James  McNeal,  Edwin  Gray,  Thomas  Andrews,  Joel 
Elam,  John  C.  Owen,  Charles  W.  Wilkerson,  James  Martin 
and  Charles  Venable,  in  trust  for  the  M.  E.  Church  for  relig- 
ious purposes,  July  9,  1829.  (See  Deed  Book  20,  page  242,  in 
the  Clerk's  Office  at  Farmville.)  An  additional  piece  of 
property  was  subsequently  obtained  for  the  use  of  the  So- 
cietyi  adjoining  tjhe  first  parcel,  from  the  salne  pairties, 
January  17,  1834,  making  up  the  present  property.  (See 
Deed  Book  21,  page  196,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  at  Farmville.) 

The  present  Parsonage  property  at  Prospect  was  con- 
veyed by  James  D.  Crawley  and  his  wife,  Amanda  M.  Craw- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  265 

ley,  in  trust,  to  Joseph  W.  Gills,  Thomas  H.  Crawley,  Thomas 
H.  Glemi,  Joseph  B.  Glenn,  George  M.  Gillespie,  Kobert  N. 
Wilkerson,  and  W.  E.  H.  Durphy,  trustees,  July  30,  1877, 
the  consideration  being  the  sum  of  $1,125.  (See  Deed  Book 
33,  page  140,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  at  Farmville.) 

There  is  a  singular  lack  of  available  data  relating  to 
these  early  days  of  Methodism  in  this  part  of  the  county, 
the  minute  books  of  the  Society  being  either  lost  or  destroyed. 
AVhat  information  there  is  available  serves  to  indicate  that 
the  work  of  the  Circuit  was  pressed  with  great  earnestness 
and  with  a  gratifying  measure  of  success. 

For  1920-21  the  Prospect  Church  raised  for  all  purposes, 
the  sum  of  $4,175.56,  while,  for  the  same  period  of  time, 
the  Olive  Branch  Church  raised  $1,845.92. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Prospect  Church  are : 

Minister:    Rev.   R.    S.   Baughan. 

Stewards:    T.   S.   Tweedy,   I.   H.   Glenn,  J.   R.   Glenn, 

B.  T.  Taylor,  C.  H.  Rucker,  C.  W.  Crawley, 

C.  E.  Chick,  T.  R.  N.  Cocks. 

Trustees :    G.  R.  Glenn,  R.  J.  Carter,  E.  S.  Taylor. 

Sunday  School  Supt. :     B.  T.  Taylor. 

President  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society;  Mrs.  R. 
S.  Baughan. 


The  present  officers  of  Olive  Branch  Church  are : 

Stewards:  J.  Hopkins  Wilkerson.  J.  Henry  Wilkerson, 
W.  W.  Vaughan,  R.  H.  Wilkerson,  H.  C. 
Elam,  W.  B.  Binford,  H.  L.  Moore,  J.  R. 
Fore. 

Trustees:     E.  H.  Gilliam,  I.  O.  Reynolds,  Emery  Chick, 
G.  D.  Warriner,  R.  Lee  Price,  J.  W.  Davis. 


266  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Sunday  School  Supt.:    W.  B.  Binford. 

President,   Woman's   Missionary   Society;      Mrs.   J.   D. 
Carter. 


The  circuit  was  organized  in  1870  with  three  churches, 
viz.,  Olive  Branch,  Prospect,  and  Pamplin.  In  1873  Smyrna 
was  added  to  the  circuit,  and  later  on  Piney  Ridge.  In  the 
year  1914  Pamplin  and  Piney  Ridge  were  transferred  to  an- 
other circuit,  leaving  Olive  Branch,  Prospect,  and  Smyrna, 
which  compose  the  present  charge.  The  first  pastor  of  Pros- 
pect Circuit  was  Rev.  Alfred  Wiles,  who  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  J.  Wiley  Bledsoe.  Revs.  J.  S.  Hunter,  W.  C.  Vaden, 
G.  H.  Ray,  H.  C.  Cheatham,  T.  J.  Taylor,  J.  E.  Potts,  R. 
W.  Watts,  and  J.  H.  Proctor  were  others  of  the  early  pastors. 

With  the  passing  of  the  years  this  charge  has  grown  and 
kept  pace  with  the  progress  of  the  times.  It  now  has  three 
good  Sunday  Schools  open  every  Sunday  throughout  the  year, 
three  flourishing  "Woman's  Missionary  Societies,"  with  one 
young  lady  from  Olive  Branch  preparing  for  work  in  foreign 
fields.  The  charge  over-subscribed  the  Centenary  quota  by  a 
good  margin,  and  raised  the  full  quota  in  the  Educational 
Movement. 

The  budget  system  has  been  adopted  enabling  the 
Stewards  to  meet  all  obligations  promptly.  The  pastor  is  paid 
monthly  and  presiding  elder  quarterly. 

Recently,  a  copy  of  the  Advocate  has  been  put  in  every 
home  on  the  charge,  totaling  175  subscriptions. 

The  village  of  Prospect  was  named  for  the  original 
Church,  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  cemetery.  This 
building  was  burned  in  1860,  at  which  time  it  was  being  used 
as  a  school  house. 

The  present  building  was  erected  in  1859.     During  the 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  267 

War  between  the  States  the  Federal  soldiers  camped  on  the 
Church  grounds  and  pitched  one  of  their  tents  on  the  north- 
east side  of  the  building.  Needing  a  place  to  hang  their 
clothing,  they  bored  holes  in  the  weather  boarding  and  in- 
serted Tvooden  pins  for  clothes  racks.  These  holes  still  re- 
main. 

The  following  constituted  the  first  official  board :  Samuel 
T.  Clark,  Henry  J.  Venable,  Thos.  W.  Crawley,  J.  W.  Gills, 
James  D.  Crawley,  and  Robt.  V.  Davis.  Records  show  that 
at  this  time  there  were  only  96  members  on  roll. 

In  1919  the  old  Church  building  was  remodeled.  Eight 
Sunday  School  rooms  were  built  and  equipped,  an  attractive 
recess  pulpit  put  in,  furnace  installed,  and  an  imposing 
colonial  front  added. 

An  Epworth  League  has  recently  been  organized,  which 
gives  promise  for  splendid  w^ork  in  the  future. 


268  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

SMYRNA  CHURCH 

Smyrna  Church  is  located  at  Sheppards  in  Buckingham 
county,  about  ten  miles  from  Prospect.  Prior  to  1873  it  was 
on  the  Buckingham  Circuit.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  a 
member  of  Prospect  Charge. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  269 

The  following  article  was  supplied  by  the  Rev.  J.  M. 
Moser,  then  pastor  of  the  Prospect  M.  E.  Church: 

"The  two  churches,  Prospect,  and  Olive  Branch,  of  our 
Prospect  Charge,  sent  twenty-one  men  into  the  various 
branches  of  service  in  the  world  war. 

Husie  Glenn  to  Camp  Taylor,  and  oversea. 

Peyton  Glenn  to  Camp  Lee,  was  made  Sergeant,  and 
saw  duty  oversea. 

Watkins  Brisentine  and  his  brother  Allen  were  in  Camps 
Lee,  and  Hancock. 

Hunter  Ferguson  to  Camp  Lee,  and  made  Sergeant. 

Norwood  Gallier  was  in  Camp  Lee,  and  was  in  action 
oversea. 

Frank  Glenn  was  in  Camp  Lee,  and  made  Sergeant. 

Leonard  Fulcher  in  Camp  Lee,  and  saw  service  oversea. 

Claude  East  in  Camp  Lee,  and  saw  action  oversea. 

Russll  East  first  in  Camp  Eustis,  and  later  in  school  and 
was  training  at  University  of  Virginia. 

Robert  Cocks  to  Navy,  and  made  storekeeper. 

Robert  Cheadle  in  Camp  Lee.  He  died  of  pneumonia, 
following  influenza. 

Warren  Tomlinson  in  automobile  training,  and  saw  ser- 
vice oversea. 

Elmer  Tomlinson,  helper  in  war  shops,  up  east  some- 
where. 

Jake  HopS;ins  in  Camp  Lee. 

Isaac  Glenn  in  school  and  war  training  at  University  of 
Virginia. 

Bascom  Taylor  in  school  and  war  training  at  Randolph 
Macon  College,  Ashland,  Virginia. 

Phil  Swan  to  Camp  Lee,  saw  action  oversea,  and  was 
killed  in  battle  there. 


270  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

John  Fore,  saw  action  oversea,  and,  after  Armistice,  did 
police  duty  in  Germany. 

Ernest  AVoodall,  in  action  oversea,  and  was  seriously 
wounded. 

Henry  Moore  in  the  Navy. 

Both  these  churches  were,  without  exception,  warmly 
patriotic.  All  seemed  bent  and  determined  to  do  their  part 
in  all  the  war  activities  without  hesitation  or  stint. 

During  the  whole  time  our  boys  were  in  camp  and  over- 
sea there  was  not  a  single  service  in  our  churches  without 
fervent,  faithful  prayer  for  them,  that  in  body  they  might 
be  protected  by  the  Great,  Good  Lord  of  Hosts;  that  in  soul 
they  might  be  kept  pure,  in  life  clean,  and  that  after  they 
had  won  the  victory  and  set  the  world  free,  they  might  re- 
turn to  us  the  same  pure  boys  they  were  when  they  went  away. 

We  had  no  service  flag,  but  we  all  kept  and  carried  a 
service  heart. 

Our  boys  were  sent  away  with  a  farewell  prayer  service 
— a  real  overflow  community  prayer  ineeting.  And,  on  their 
return,  we  called  them  together  in  the  same  Church  in  a 
gracious  service  of  thanksgiving  to  our  Father  for  His  won- 
derful goodness  and  mercy  to  our  boys,  and  to  us  and  our 
Allies. 

Our  people  were  quite  active  and  very  generous  in  rais- 
ing all  war  funds,  even  the  children  catching  up  the  patriotic 
spirit,  both  buying,  and  soliciting  War  Saving  Stamps  with 
a  zeal  that  called  out  our  best  praise;  so  that  in  Ked  Cross 
work,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work,  Liberty  Loans,  and  War  Saving 
Stamps,  our  people  truly  excelled.  We  are  not  able  to  give 
the  figures,  but  verily  they  were  far  into  the  thousands.  We 
feel  safe  in  making  the  statement  that  our  people  never 
turned  down  a  single  call  for  War  Charities.  Our  men,  our 
women,  our  children,  were  always  ready  to  give,  and  to  do, 
for  the  war  and  for  relief." 

March  6,  1920. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  271 

SALEM  M.  E.  CHURCH,  SOUTH;  RICE 

This  article  was  contributed  by  the  Rev.  O.  M.  Clarke, 
present  pastor  of  the  Church. 

Salem  M.  E.  Churth,  South,  was  organized  in  the  fall  of 
1884,  as  the  outgrowth  of  a  Sunday  School  organized  in 
1883,  at  the  home  of  Mr.  C.  L.  Overton,  by  Mr.  A.  W.  Drum- 
meller,  of  Farmville,  and  a  revival  meeting  conducted  at  Rice, 
by  Rev.  J.  S.  Hunter  of  Farmville. 

There  were  fourteen  charter  members,  as  follows: 

Mrs.  M.  J.  Hubbard,  Mrs.  M.  R.  Watson,  Miss  Betty 
Wade,  John  T.  Branch,  Mrs.  M.  B.  Price,  J.  W.  Garrett, 
Mrs.  V.  C.  Garrett,  W.  H.  Hubbard,  J.  E  Hubbard,  S.  D. 
Hubbard,  Miss  Nannie  B.  Hubbard,  (now  Mrs.  Amos,  of 
Roanoke,)  Miss  Mary  Watson  (now  Mrs.  Smith,  of  Cumber- 
land) Miss  Mary  Watson  (now  Mrs.  J.  A.  Hillsman,)  Miss 
Anna   Watson    (now   Mrs.   John   Morrissette). 

The  Church  was  assigned  to  Burkeville  Circuit,  with 
Rev.  J.  B.  Askew  as  its  first  pastor,  who  served  until  1887. 

The  following  ministers  have  since  served  this  Church: 
J.  E.  White,  1887,  (died);  W.  E.  Bullard,  supply,  1887;  T. 
M.  Beckham,  1888-1890;  F.  B.  Glenn,  1890-1892;  R.  L.  Wing- 
field,  1892-1894;  R.  S.  Baughan,  1894-1897;  W.  F.  Hayes, 
1897-1899;  J.  E.  Oiler,  1899-1900;  Dr.  Leek  Spencer,  1900-. 
1903,  (died) ;  J.  E.  McCullough,  supply;  W.  L.  Jones,  1903- 
1907;  T.  E.  Johnson,  1907-1909;  W.  A.  S.  Conrad,  1909-1911; 
R.  G.  James,  1911-1913;  W.  A.  S.  Conrad,  1913-1917;  T.  H. 
Stimson,  1917-1918 ;  O.  M.  Clarke,  1918,  to  the  present. 

Present  officers: 

Rev.  O.  M.  Clarke,  Postor. 

J.  E.  Hubbard,  Superintendent  Sunday  School. 

W.  D.  Mason,  Treasurer. 


272  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Stewards:    J.  E.  Hubbard;  George  Frank;  M.  T.  Gar- 
rett. 

Assistant  Stewards:  W.  D.  Mason;  H.  H.  Hubbard;  W. 
H.  Price. 

Trustees:  J.  E.  Hubbard;  George  Frank;  W.  D.  Mason; 
W.  H.  Price;  H.  H.  Hubbard. 

The  gross  income  for  last  year,  for  all  purposes,  was 
$1,125. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  273 

THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN  PRINCE 
EDWARD  COUNTY 

Somewhere  about  the  year  1740,  reports  came  to  Virginia 
of  awakenings  and  revivals  of  religion  occurring  in  the  North, 
and  some  books,  differing  from  those  in  common  use,  found 
their  way  for  the  first  time  into  Virginia,  and  disturbed  the 
minds  of  many  persons  in  the  counties  of  Hanover,  Louisa, 
and  thereabouts.  Finding  nothing  corresponding  with  these 
teachings  in  the  sermons  of  the  clergy  of  the  established,  or 
Episcopal  Church,  and  deeming  them  to  be  Scriptural,  as 
opposed  to  that  of  the  clergy,  some  of  these  people  of  the  laity, 
separated  themselves  from  the  usual  services,  which  by  law 
they  were  bound  to  attend,  and  read  sermons  in  private 
houses. 

These  things  came  to  the  ears  of  the  then  Governor  of  the 
State,  Governor  Gooch,  and  he  became  much  offended,  and, 
summoning  a  general  court,  delivered  a  charge  complaining  of 
the  conduct  of  those  laymen  and  preachers  who,  professing  to 
be  Presbyterians,  yet  utterly  disregarded  the  Act  of  Tol- 
eration, and  produced  much  discord  in  the  colony.  This 
charge  was  laid  before  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia,  by  a  mes- 
senger for  Virginia. 

The  Synod,  having  considered  the  matter,  sent  the  fol- 
lowing address  to  the  Governor: — 

"May  it  please  your  Honour,  the  favorable  acceptance 
which  your  Honour  was  pleased  to  give  our  former  address, 
and  the  countenance  and  protection  whix^h  those  of  our  per- 
suasion have  met  with  in  Virginia,  fills  us  with  gratitude,  and 
we  beg  leave  on  this  occasion  with  all  sincerity  to  express 
the  same.  It  very  deeply  affects  us  to  find  that  any  who  go 
from  these  parts,  and  perhaps  assume  the  name  of  Pres- 
byterians, should  be  guilty  of  such  practices,  such  uncharit- 
able and  unchristian  expressions,  as  are  taken  notice  of  in  your 


274  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Honour's  charge  to  the  Grand  Jury.  And,  in  the  meantime, 
it  gives  us  the  greatest  pleasure  that  we  can  assure  your  Hon- 
our that  these  persons  never  belonged  to  our  body,  but  are 
missionaries,  sent  out  by  some,  who,  by  reason  of  their  divi- 
sions and  uncharitable  doctrines  and  practices,  were,  in  May, 
1741,  excluded  from  our  Synod,  upon  which  they  erected  them- 
selves into  a  separate  society,  and  having  industriously  sent 
abroad  persons  whom  we  judge  ill  qualified  for  the  character 
they  assume,  to  divide  and  trouble  the  churches.  And,  there- 
fore, we  humbly  pray,  that  while  those  who  belong  to  us,  and 
produce  proper  testimonials,  behave  themselves  suitably,  they 
may  still  enjoy  the  favor  of  your  Honour's  countenance  and 
protection.  And,  praying  for  the  divine  blessing  on  your 
Honour's  person  and  government,  we  beg  leave  to  subscribe 
ourselves  your  Honour's,  etc.  etc. 

ROBERT  CATHCART,  Moderator. 

These  persons,  thus  complained  of,  are  identified  by  an 
address  to  the  House  of  Burgesses,  sent  at  about  this  time, 
as  follows: 

"ADDRESS  TO  THE  BURGESSES." 

'''To  the  Worshipful  the  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Hou^e 

of  Burgesses. 

"The  humble  petition  of  some  of  the  clergy  of  this  Domin- 
ion showeth: 

"That  there  have  been  frequently  held  in  the  counties  of 
Hanover,  Henrico,  Goochland,  and  some  others,  for  several 
years  past,  numerous  assemblies,  especially  of  the  common 
people,  upon  a  pretended  religious  account, — convened  some- 
times by  merely  lay  enthusiasts,  who,  in  these  meetings,  read 
sundry  fanatical  books  and  use  long  extempore  prayers  and 
discourses, — sometimes  by  strolling,  pretended  ministers,  and 
at  present  by  one  Mr.  Samuel  Davies,  who  has  fixed  himself 
in  Hanover;  and,  in  the  counties  of  Amelia  and  Albemarle, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  275 

by  a  person  who  calls  himself  Mr.  Ceimick,  well  known  in 
England  by  his  intimac^y  with  Mr.  Whitelield. 

"That  though  these  teachers  and  their  adherents  (except 
the  above-mentioned  Cennick)  assume  the  denomination  of 
Presbyterians,  yet  we  think  they  have  no  just  claim  to  that 
character,  as  the  ringleaders  of  the  party  were,  for  their 
erroneous  doctrines  and  practices,  excluded  from  the  Presby- 
terian Synod  of  Philadelphia  in  May,  1741,  (as  appears  from 
an  address  of  said  Synod  to  our  Governor;)  nor  have  they, 
since  that  time,  made  any  recantation  of  their  errors,  nor 
have  been  readmitted  as  members  of  that  Synod,  which 
Synod,  though  of  many  years  standing,  never  was  reprehended 
for  errors  in  doctrine,  discipline,  or  government,  either  by 
the  established  Kirk  of  Scotland,  the  Presbyterian  Dissen- 
ters in  England,  or  any  other  body  of  Presbyterians  what- 
soever. Whence  we  beg  leave  to  conclude,  that  the  dis- 
tinguishing tenets  of  these  teachers  before  mentiond  are  of 
dangerous  consequences  to  religion  in  general,  and  that  the 
authors  and  propagators  thereof  are  deservedly  stigmatized 
with  a  name  (New-Lights)  unknown  till  of  late  in  this  part 
of  the  world. 

"That  your  petitioners  further  humbly  conceive  that, 
though  these  excluded  members  of  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia 
w^ere  really  Presbyterians,  or  of  any  of  the  other  sects  toler- 
ated in  England,  yet  there  is  no  law  in  this  Colony  by  vir- 
tue whereof  they  can  be  entitled  to  a  license  to  preach,  far 
less  to  send  forth  their  emmissaries,  or  to  travel  themselves 
over  several  counties,  (to  many  places  without  invitation)  to 
gain  proselytes  to  their  way;  'to  inveigle  ignorant  and  un- 
worthy people  with  their  sophistry;'  and,  under  pretence 
of  greater  degrees  of  piety  among  them  than  can  be  found 
among  the  members  of  the  Established  Church,  to  seduce 
them  from  their  lawful  teachers  and  the  religion  hitherto 
professed  in  this  Dominion. 


276  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

"Your  petitioners  therefore,  confiding  in  the  wisdom  and 
piety  of  this  worshipful  House,  the  guardians  of  their  reli- 
gious as  well  as  their  civil  privileges,  and  being  deeply  sensible 
of  the  inestimable  value  of  the  souls  committed  to  their  charge, 
of  the  infectious  and  pernicious  tendency,  nature,  and  conse- 
(](uences  of  heresy  and  schism,  and  of  the  sacred  and  solemn 
obligations  they  are  under  'To  be  ready  with  all  faithful  dili- 
gence to  banish  and  drive  away  all  erroneous  and  strange  doc- 
trines contrary  to  God's  word,  and  to  use  their  utmost  care 
that  the  flock  of  Christ  may  be  fed  with  the  sincere  milk  of 
the  word  only,'  humbly  pray  that  the  good  laws,  formerly 
in  that  case  made  and  provided,  may  be  strictly  put  in  execu- 
tion; particularly  that  entitled  'ministers  to  be  inducted.'  And, 
as  we  humbly  think  this  law  still  retains  its  primitive  force 
and  vigour,  so  we  pray  that  it  may  on  this  occasion  effectual- 
ly exert  the  same,  to  the  end  that  all  novel  notions  and  per- 
plexing, uncertain  doctrines  and  speculations,  which  tend  to 
the  subversion  of  true  religion,  designed  by  its  admirable 
Author  to  direct  the  faith  and  practice  of  reasonable  creatures, 
may  be  suitably  checked  and  discouraged.  And  that  this 
Church,  of  which  we  are  members,  and  which  our  forefathers 
justly  esteemed  a  most  invaluable  blessing,  worthy  by  all 
prudent  and  honourable  means  to  be  defended  and  supported, 
being  by  us  in  the  same  manner  regarded,  may  remain  'the 
pillar  and  ground  of  truth,'  and  glory  of  this  Colony,  which 
hitherto  hath  been  remarkably  happy  for  uniformity  of  re- 
ligion. 

"And  your  petitioners,  as  in  duty  bound,  shall  ever  pray, 

®^^*  "D.  MossoM, 

"John  Brunskill, 
"Pat.  Henry,  (Rev.) 
"John  Robertson, 
"Robert  Barrett." 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  277 

The  result  of  this  protest  from  these  five  clergymen,  was 
that  Mr.  Davies  was  summoned  to  appear  before  the  House 
and  plead  his  own  cause,  which  he  did  with  such  ability  that 
he  appears  to  have  secured  recognition,  though  not  to  the 
extent  that  he  had  hoped  for.  He  was  allowed  to  continue 
his  work  with  some  restrictions.  His  labors  were  confined 
to  the  Hanover  Presbytery  which  embraced  the  territory  after- 
wards composing  Prince  Edward  county,  most  of  his  efforts 
being  concentrated  on  that  section  of  his  territory.  His  zeal 
and  eloquence  attracted  great  crowds,  and  drew  many  from 
the  Episcopal  churches,  which  stirred  up  continual  opposi- 
tion to  him.  He  was  more  or  less  directly  instrumental  in 
the  establishment  of  the  Academy  of  Prince  Edward,  now 
Hampden-Sidney  College.  He  was  afterward  President  of 
Princeton  College,  New  Jersey.  How  he  obtained  recogni- 
tion from  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia  does  not  appear,  nor 
does  it  appear  that  he  was  amongst  those  originally  expelled 
by  that  body. 

The  progress  of  the  Presbyterians  in  Prince  Edward 
county  has  been  co-existent  with  the  growth  of  Hampden- 
Sidney  College  and  the  reader  is  directed  to  the  chapter  deal- 
ing with  that  institution  for  further  information,  as  touch- 
ing those  early  days  of  the  Church. 

Another  factor  in  the  decline  of  the  Established  Church 
that  did  so  much  to  accelerate  the  growth  of  the  Presbyterians 
in  Prince  Edward,  was  the  defection  of  the  Rev.  Archibald 
McRoberts  from  the  Episcopal  Church  and  his  adherence  to 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  This  good  man  was  ordained  in 
1763,  and  continued  a  minister  of  the  Episcopal  Church  untU 
1779.  When  he  withdrew,  he  was  located  in  a  parish  in 
Prince  Edward,  and  lived  at  Providence,  on  the  glebe  near 
Prince  Edward  Court  House,  from  whence,  on  July  13,  1780, 
he  wrote  his  friend  Mr.  Jarratt,  regarding  the  change  he  had 
made.    In  that  letter  he  says: — 


278  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

•'Upon  the  strictest  inquiry  it  appears  to  me  that  the 
Church  of  Christ  is  truly  and  properly  independent;  and  I 
am  a  dissenter  under  that  denomination.  Ecclesiastical  mat- 
ters among  the  Presbyterians  I  find  every  day  verging  toward 
my  sentiments,  and  will,  I  believe,  terminate  there.  There  is 
very  little  that  divides  us  even  now.  They  constantly  attend 
my  poor  ministry.  Several  of  Mr.  Sankey's  people  have  joined 
my  congregation,  and  I  have  lately  had  a  most  delightful 
communion-season  at  Cumberland,  where  I  assisted  Mr. 
Smith,  at  the  urgent  request  of  himself  and  the  elders.  Soon 
after  my  dissent,  as  my  concern  for  the  people  had  suffered 
no  change,  I  drew  up  a  set  of  articles  including  the  essential 
parts  of  natural  and  revealed  religion,  together  with  the  Con- 
stitution and  Discipline  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  pro- 
posed them  to  their  consideration;  since  which  they  have 
formed  a  congregation  at  the  chapel,  and  a  few  have  acceded 
at  French's  and  Sandy  River.  I  preach  at  the  churches  by 
permission,  and  intend  to  continue,  God  willing,  until  the 
first  of  January,  at  which  time,  if  congregations  should  not 
be  formed  at  the  lower  churches,  my  time  wdll  be  confined  to 
the  chapel,  and  such  other  places  as  Providence  may  point 
out  and  the  good  spirit  of  God  unite  his  people  at." 

He  was  a  Scotchman  by  birth.  The  following  incident  is 
related  of  him:  "Most  of  the  able-bodied  men  of  Prince 
Edward  were  off  with  the  army,  on  duty  elsewhere,  when 
Tarleton,  with  his  troops  of  cavalry  made  a  foray  through  that 
and  the  neighboring  counties.  He  visited  sundry  houses  in 
Prince  Edward,  attempted  to  frighten  women  and  children, 
destroyed  much  furniture,  and  otherwise  did  much  wanton 
mischief.  A  detachment  was  also  sent  to  the  glebe,  and  Mr. 
McRoberts  had  hardly  time  to  escape.  They  ripped  open- 
feather-beds,  broke  mirrors,  etc.,  and  went  off,  having  set  fire 
to  the  house.  It  burned  slowly  at  first,  but  the  building 
would  have  been  consumed  had  not  a  shower  of  rain  come 
up  suddenly  and  extinguished  the  flames.     Mr.  McRoberts, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  279 

who  regarded  this  as  a  special  interposition  of  providence, 
called  the  place  PROVIDENCE." 

The  name  stuck,  and  such  it  was  known  ever  after. 
Later  on,  the  glebe  became  the  property  of  Colonel  Venable. 
(Meade,  Vol.  I,  448.) 

It  would  appear  that  two  of  Mr.  McRoberts'  sons  gradua- 
ated  with  the  first  class  from  Hampden- Sidney  College. 

The  Rev.  Richard  Sankey,  ordained  in  1739  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Donegal,  in  Pennsylvania,  moved  to  Prince  Edward 
county  with  his  entire  congregation,  establishing  his  work  at 
French's,  a  little  to  the  northeast  of  Kingsville.  He  was  the 
first  regularly  installed  Presbyterian  minister  in  the  county. 
Other  Presbyterian  churches  of  these  early  days  of  the  county, 
now  extinct,  were  Briery,  1748;  Buffalo,  1759;  and  Watkins, 
1759. 


280  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

THE  FARMVILLE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Farmville  Presbyterian 
Church  was  organized  in  1828,  but  that  is  not  borne  out  by 
the  facts,  as  the  following  paper  discloses : 

"Petition  of  the  members  of  Hanover  Church,  worship- 
ping at  Farmville,  Va.,  to  West  Hanover  Presbytery,  ask- 
ing a  division  of  Hanover  Church,  October  8th,  1844. 

Farmville,  Va.,  Oct.  8th,  1844. 
The  Memorial  and  Petition  of  members  of  the  Hanover 
Church,    (Prince   Edward   county)    usually   worshipping   at 
Farmville,  to  AVest  Hanover  Presbytery: 

Your  petitioners  respectfully  request  that  the  Presbytery 
would  divide  Hanover  Church,  organizing  one  of  the  divis- 
ions at  Farmville.  The  records  of  the  proceedings  of  Han- 
over Church  in  reference  to  the  desired  division  will  ac- 
company this  petition,  and  we  ask  that  the  same  be  considered 
a  part  of  this  memorial.  The  representatives  of  the  Hanover 
Church  in  Presbytery  will  give  the  necessary  explanations  in 
reference  to  the  wishes  of  the  memorialists. 

We  are  not  advised  that  it  will  be  contrary  to  the  con- 
stitution, or  form  of  Government  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
to  permit  the  present  pastor  of  the  Church  to  have  charge  of 
the  two  churches  and,  as  your  memorialists  do  not  desire  a 
change  in  our  pastoral  relations,  they  ask  that  a  division 
be  made  contemplating  such  an  arrangement. 

Your  memorialists  will  only  add,  that  the  members  of 
Hanover  Church,  usually  worshipping  at  Farmville,  are  near- 
ly, if  not  entirely  unanimous  in  the  request  herein  presented. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

F.  N.  Watkins,  M.  A.  Watkins,  C.  R.  Barksdale,  Ed.  M. 
Barksdale,  John  Dupuy,  Ann  Dupuy,  Wm.  C.  Flournoy,  (by 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  281 

F.  N.  W.),  M.  W.  Flournoy,  M.  R.  Flippen,  Caroline  Flip- 
pen,  Wm.  M.  Womack,  N.  D.  Price,  M.  T.  Price,  M.  E. 
Venable  (by  F.  N.  W.  by  permission),  Mary  C.  Womack, 
Jacob  W.  Morton,  Mary  Jane  Morton,  Wm.  C.  Chappell,  A. 
W.  Millspaugh,  C.  C.  Read,  A.  E.  Read,  Mary  P.  Venable, 
Charles  T.  Carrington,  C.  Scott  Venable,  E.  G.  Venable, 
Mary  E.  Venable,  Sarah  S.  Venable." 

This  paper,  the  original  of  which  is  now  in  the  hands 
of  Mrs.  Henry  Edmunds  of  Farmville,  Va.,  reveals  the  fact, 
that  the  Church  was  organized  in  1844  with  twenty-seven 
charter  members,  and  was  set  off  from  the  College  Church, 
which  was  then  known  as  Hanover  Church,  and  was  served 
by  the  same  minister  as  the  College,  or  Hanover  Church. 
The  minister  was  Rev.  Wm.  C.  Scott,  who  seems  to  have 
served  the  Church  till  1854.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
Michael  Osborne,  who,  served  till  1863.  Then  followed  in  suc- 
cession. Rev.  Richard  Mcllwaine,  1864-1870;  Rev.  H.  H. 
Hawes,  1871-1885;  Rev.  W.  H.  Neel,  1885-1888;  Rev.  E.  H. 
Harding,  1891-1908;  Rev.  J.  G.  McAllister,  1903-1905;  Rev. 
H.  T.  Graham,  1905-1909;  Rev.  W.  E.  Hill,  1909-1912;  Rev. 
Andrew  Allen,  1912-1916;  and  Rev.  Charles  F.  Rankin,  to 
the  present  time. 

At  the  time  the  Farmville  Church  was  organized.  West 
Hanover  Presbytery  was  composed  of  thirteen  churches,  the 
oldest  of  which  was  Cumberland,  organized  in  1754,  having 
had  a  history  of  nearly  a  century  when  the  infant  Farmville 
Church  was  born.  The  Presbytery  now  has  forty-eight 
churches  on  its  roll. 

The  present  house  of  worship  at  Farmville,  is  the  origi- 
nal building,  and  the  lot  on  which  it  stands,  is  said  to  have 
been  given  by  Col.  James  Madison,  grandfather  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liam G.  Dunington.  To  the  original  building  has  been  added 
the  portico,  and  the  Sunday  School  annex,  which  was  built 
during  the  pastorate  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Neel,  and  just  now 


282  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

the  congregation  is  preparing  to  add  another  wing  to  the 
building,  containing  eighteen  class  rooms,  for  the  purposes  of 
a  modern  Sunday  School. 

During  its  seventy-eight  years  of  history,  the  Church  has 
grown  from  a  membership  of  twenty-seven,  to  an  enrollment 
of  three  hundred  and  sixty;  and,  from  the  modest  contribu- 
tions of  those  early  days,  to  an  annual  budget  of  about  $12,- 
000,  and  is  now  the  second  largest  Church  in  the  Presbytery, 
Charlottesville  ranking  first. 

It  would  appear  that  the  Farmville  Church,  before  the 
War  between  the  States,  had  an  endowment,  as  was  true  of 
some  other  churches  in  this  section,  and  that  this  endow- 
ment consisted  largely  in  slaves;  of  course  the  Church  lost 
its  endowment  with  the  close  of  the  war.  This  perhaps, 
seemed  a  great  loss  to  the  congregation  at  that  time,  but, 
doubtless,  was  a  great  blessing  in  disguise,  as  has  been  pro- 
ven in  so  many  other  cases  where  a  Church  has  lost  its  en- 
dowment. 

Many  of  the  names  of  those  twenty-seven  charter  mem- 
bers still  appear  on  the  roll  of  the  Church,  in  their  descend- 
ants, as  officers  and  members  of  the  Church,  who  are  worthily 
carrying  on  the  work  which  their  fathers  and  mothers  so 
bravely  began.  And  this  old  Church,  which  has  waxed 
stronger  as  the  decades  have  gone  by,  bids  fair  to  render  a 
more  glorious  service  in  the  future  than  it  has  in  the  past; 
for,  to  the  manhood  of  old  age,  it  adds  the  lustiness  of  youth. 


(Note:  With  some  unimportant  alterations,  the  above 
most  excellent  record  was  furnished  by  the  Rev.  C.  F.  Rankin. 
It  would  appear  that  some  substantial  grounds  for  the  tradi- 
tion that  this  congregation  was  formed  in  1828,  exists  in  the 
probability  that  that  date  is  meant  to  mark  the  time  when 
Presbyterian  services  were  first  held  in  Farmville  in  connec- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  283 

tion  with  the  Cumberland,  Hanover  (or  College)  Churches; 
the  erection  of  the  independent  Church  taking  the  place  in 
1844,  as  stated  above. — Editor.) 

The  following  compose  the  official  membership  of  the 
Church  at  the  present  time: 

Pastor;  The  Rev.  Charles  F.  Rankin. 

Elders:  Dr.  P.  A.  Irving,  Clerk  of  Session.  W.  D.  M. 
Stokes,  E.  A.  Richardson,  Joel  Watkins,  Judge  George  J. 
Hundley,  Judge  Asa  D.  Watkins,  J.  J  Adams,  W.  T.  Clark. 

Deacons:  Capt.  S.  W.  Watkins,  Chairman  and  Treasurer 
of  the  Church;  George  Richardson,  Assistant  Treasurer  of 
Church;  R.  B.  Cralle,  F.  H.  Hanbury,  C.  W.  Blanton,  C. 
W.  Harrison,  Charles  Scheffield,  Horace  Adams,  R.  B.  Johns, 
A.  V.  Wade,  J.  T.  Thompson,  F.  W.  Mcintosh,  E.  W.  Husted, 
F.  S.  Blanton,  B.  M.  Cox. 

Superintendent  of  Sunday  School:    F.  S.  Blanton. 

Officers  of  Women's  Auxiliary: 

President:   Miss  Carrie  Bliss. 
Vice-Pres. :  Mrs.  A.  B.  Armstrong. 
Secretary:  Mrs.  E.  S.  Shields. 
Treasurer:   Mrs.  P.  A.  Irving. 

Circle  Leaders  of  Women's  Auxiliary: 

Mrs.  George  Richardson. 
Mrs.  Henry  B.  Smith. 
Mrs.  C.  A.  Price. 
Mrs.  George  Rex. 
Mrs.  S.  W.  Watkins. 


284  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

COiXEGE    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH,    HAMPDEN- 

SIDNEY 

This  Church  was  first  organized  under  the  name,  "Han- 
over Church,"  which  name  was  subsequently  changed  by  the 
Presbytery  to  "College  Church,"  and  is  located  at  Hampden- 
Sidney,  in  the  immediate  vicinty  of  the  College,  and  is,  of 
course,  the  College  Church. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  1835,  "Hanover  Church,"  (the 
present  "College  Church")  was  organized  under  orders  of 
Presbytery,  by  a  division  of  "Cumberland  Church,"  which 
formerly  embraced  the  territory  and  the  membership  of  the 
present  "Cumberland  Church,"  the  "College  Church,"  and  the 
Farmville  Church,  with  the  following  officers:  First  pastor, 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  M.  Staunton,  D.  D.,  who  was  ordained  in 
1835;  ruling  elders:  Major  James  Morton,  Dr.  Goodrich 
Wilson,  Moses  Tredway,  Armistead  Burwell,  James  Madison, 
John  Rice,  Silas  Biglow,  Clement  C.  Read,  Samuel  Lyle, 
Samuel  C.  Anderson. 

This  new  organization  included  ruling  elders.  Dr.  Good- 
rich Wilson,  Col.  James  Madison,  Col.  John  Rice,  Clement 
Read,  Samuel  Lyle,  and  Samuel  C.  Anderson. 

The  Church  thus  organized  embraced  "College  Church" 
proper,  and  the  Farmville  Church,  and  so  continued  until  the 
21st  of  December,  1844,  when  a  portion  of  the  members  of 
this  Church  was  organized  as  a  Church  to  be  known  as  the 
Farmville  Church. 

On  the  1st  of  May,  1840,  the  following  were  elected  rul- 
ing elders:  Henry  E.  Watkins,  Dr.  Peyton  R.  Berkeley, 
Nathaniel  E.  Venable,  and  Thomas  Flournoy,  Mr.  Flournoy 
subsequently  removed  to  the  neighborhood  of  Farmville,  and 
it  is  believed,  never  acted  as  elder  in  the  College  Church. 

On  the  1st  day  of  March,  1845,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Han- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  285 

over  congregation,  held  at  College  Church,  agreeable  to 
previous  notice,  the  following  were  elected  as  ruling  elders: 
Asa  D.  Dickinson,  John  Hughes,  Dr.  B.  F.  Terry. 

In  September  of  1856,  the  following  were  elected  deacons 
in  this  Church,  being  the  first  of  that  class  of  officers :  Robert 
C.  Anderson,  James  A.  Womack,  John  A.  Dalby.  At  the 
same  time  Abraham  C.  Carrington  was  elected  ruling  elder. 

In  December  1859,  Edwin  Edmunds,  Henry  C.  Guthrie, 
and  Henry  Stokes,  were  elected  ruling  elders. 

In  May,  1860,  A.  R.  Venable  and  Charles  Baskerville 
were  elected  deacons.  On  the  12th  of  August,  1871,  Louis  L. 
Holladay  and  Andrew  R.  Venable  were  elected  to  the  elder- 
ship, while  Henry  W.  Edmunds  and  John  M.  Venable  were 
made  deacons. 

The  following  have  served  the  Church  as  pastors: 

Rev.  B.  M.  Staunton,  D.  D.,  1835-1840. 

Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  Staunton,  Rev.  James  W.  Alexan- 
der of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  was  called  but  declined. 

Rev.  Patrick  I.  Sparrow,  D.  D.,  June  26,  1841-1847. 

Rev.  Benjamin  H.  Rice,  D.  D.,  ordained,  June,  1848- 
1858,  when  he  died. 

Drs.  R.  L.  Dabney  and  B.  M.  Smith,  joint  pastors,  1858- 
1874. 

Drs.  Smith  and  Peck,  supplied,  1874-1875. 

Rev.  Charles  A.  White,  D.  D.,  1875-1891,  when  he  died. 

Rev.  Richard  Mcllwaine,  D.  D.,  1891-1895. 

Rev.  James  Murray,  D.  D.,  1895-1907. 

Rev.  W.  J.  King,  1907-1917. 

Rev.  Edgar  G.  Gammon,  D.  D.,  1917. 


286  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

The  following  are  the  officers  for  the  current  year,  1921. 

Session :  The  Rev.  Edgar  G.  Gammon,  D.  D.,  Moderator. 
A.  W.  McWhorter,  Clerk;  E.  L.  Dupuy,  J.  D.  Eggleston,  P. 
T.  Akinson,  R.  E.  Stokes. 

Deacons :  J.  H.  Rodgers,  Allan  Stokes,  John  Allen,  T.  J. 
Mcllwaine. 

Church  Treasurer:   E.  L.  Dupuy. 

The  total  income  of  the  Church  for  the  current  year, 
(1921)  was  $12,040.16. 

The  value  of  the  Church  property,  including  the  fine 
new  manse,  erected  in  1920,  is  approximately  $50,000. 

The  Church  has  made  marked  progress  under  the  pas- 
toral charge  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gammon,  a  sketch  of  whom  will 
be  found  in  the  chapter  on  "Who's  Who  in  Prince  Edward," 
in  this  work. 


Hutory  of  Prince  Edward  County  287 

JAMESTOWN  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  RICE 
War  Record. 

This  Church  had  but  one  representative  in  the  Great 
War,  Private  James  Blanton  V^ughan,  who  trained  at  Camp 
Lee  and  served  overseas.  He  was  discharged  on  March  1st, 
1919,  from  Camp  Dix.  The  Church  as  a  whole,  responded 
to  all  calls  throughout  the  war  period,  including  war  chari- 
ties. Prayers  were  offered  for  the  success  of  the  Allies,  and 
a  fervent  patriotism  was  in  evidence.  The  minister  of  the 
Church,  the  Rev.  F.  W.  Osborn,  led  his  people  in  all  their 
war  activities. 


288  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

DISCIPLES  OF  CHRIST, 
LIBERTY  CHURCH 

The  following  article  respecting  Liberty  Church,  was 
furnished  by  the  Rev.  F.  W.  Berry,  present  pastor  of  the 
Church : 

This  Church  was  first  organized  in  1847.  Its  first  loca- 
tion was  near  the  Richmond  and  Danville  R.  R.,  three  miles 
N.  E.  from  Green  Bay.  There  were  twenty-three  charter 
members,  with  two  elders:  S.  H.  Wootton,  and  William  Wal- 
ton. 

In  the  year  1881  the  Church  was  moved  to  Green  Bay, 
its  present  location.  Since  locating  at  Green  Bay,  the  Church 
has  furnished  the  charter  membership  for  three  Churches, 
namely,  Beulah,  at  Rice;  Bethel,  in  Lunenburg  Co.;  and 
Crewe. 

The  present  membership  is  one  hundred  and  four.  The 
officers  are: 

Elders:    L.  D.  Jones;  F.  W.  Berry. 

Deacons:   F.  H.  Jones;  S.  C.  Coleman;  G.  W.  Palmer. 

Secretary-treasurer:    F.  H.  Jones. 

The  total  income  for  aU  purposes  in  1921  was  $450. 

The  following  men  from  the  congregation  served  in  the 
world  war :  R.  W.  Jones ;  L.  A.  Snow ;  W.  R.  Berry ;  Thomas 
Weaver,  overseas;  S.  S.  Flippen  and  O.  C.  Bonner,  at  home 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  289 

COLORED  CHURCHES 

The  author  is  indebted  for  the  following  very  excellent 
sketch  of  the  colored  churches  of  the  county,  to  the  Rev.  P. 
W.  Price,  who,  besides  serving  a  group  of  colored  Baptist 
churches,  is  the  principal  of  a  large  colored  school  in  Farm- 
ville.  The  sketch  is  presented  almost  verbatim  as  prepared 
by  him. 

There  are  at  present  in  the  county  of  Prince  Edward, 
twenty  colored  churches,  with  an  approximate  membership  of 
5,665;  namely:  Alabama;  Beulah  A.  M.  E.;  Calvary;  First 
Baptist,  Farmville;  First  Rocks;  High  Bridge;  High  Rock; 
Levi;  Mercy  Seat;  Mount  Zion;  Mount  Moriah;  Monroe; 
New  Hope;  New  Witt;  Peaks;  Prospect  A.  M.  E. ;  Race 
Street,  Farmville;  Sulphur  Springs;  Triumph;  and  Zion 
Hill. 

The  oldest  of  these,  and  the  churches  from  which  most 
of  the  others  sprang,  are.  First  Baptist,  Farmville;  Mount 
Zion;  Sulphur  Springs;  Triumph;  and  New  Hope.  These 
were  organized  by  colored  members  from  white  churches  of 
which  they  were  memlDers  before  the  jemancipation,  and 
in  some  instances  with  the  aid  and  advice  of  the  white  friends 
who  were  members  of  the  churches  from  which  they  ob- 
tained their  letters  of  dismission  to  form  the  exclusive  col- 
ored churches. 

The  value  of  the  colored  church  property  is  about  $37,- 
000.  These  churches  pay  to  their  pastors  about  $5,300  an- 
nually. To  Foreign  Missions  they  pay  about  $300,  and  to 
Home  Misssions  (most  of  which  is  used  in  the  county  to 
help  build  schools  and  pay  teachers,)   about  $19,000. 

A  few  of  the  consecrated  pioneers  who  havte  nursed 
these  churches  during  their  earlier  years,  often  men  of 
limited  education,  but  men  with  fixed  faith  in  God,  were 
Revs.  John  White ;  Carter  Braxton ;  Robert  Watkins ;  Armis- 
tead  Burkley;  and  Nelson  Jordan. 


1.  Hampden-Sidney  College. 

2.  Union  Theological  Seminary,  Richmond. 

3.  State  Female  Normal  School,  Farmville. 

4.  Colored  Schools. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  293 


THE  SCHOOLS  OF  PRINCE  EDWARD 


HAMPDEN-SIDNEY  COLLEGE 

This  institution,  a  College  for  men,  originated  as  an 
Academy,  established  by  the  Presbytery  of  Hanover,  1774- 
1775,  and  known  as  "Prince  Edward  Academy,"  and  for- 
mally opened,  January  1,  1776. 

The  circumstances  leading  up  to  its  establishment  were 
briefly  these: 

Virginia  was  at  the  first  settled  by  Englishmen,  most  of 
whom  were  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  now  called 
the  Episcopal  Church.  Dissenters  were  very  few  in  number, 
but  grew  steadily,  so  that  some  years  previous  to  the  Revo- 
lutionary War,  they  had  become  a  rather  considerable  body. 
They  possessed  no  independent  institution  of  higher  learning, 
William  and  Mary,  then  the  only  College  in  the  state,  being 
under  the  control  of  the  Episcopalians. 

At  about  this  time,  the  Rev.  Samuel  Davies,  of  Hanover 
county,  with  other  of  like  mind,  formed  the  Hanover  Pres- 
bytery of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  bulk  of  the  Presby- 
terians in  the  lower  part  of  the  state,  were  then  residing  in 
Prince  Edward  and  the  nearby  counties.  This  newly  formed 
Presbytery  determined  to  found  an  institution  more  in  sym- 
pathy with  their  ideals  than  William  and  Mary,  and  did 
so  at  about  the  above  date. 

The  Academy  was  organized  into  a  College  and  chartered 
in  1783.  It  received  its  name  from  those  two  valiant  cham- 
pions and  martyrs  of  liberty  John  Hampden  and  Algernon 
Sidney.  When  established,  it  was  dependent  upon  private 
munificence,  and  has  continued  from  its  inception  to  be  sup- 


294  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

ported  by  private  benefactions.    Next  to  William  and  Mary, 
it  is  the  oldest  College  in  the  South. 

The  many  fine  buildings  of  the  College,  occupy  an  ele- 
vated, healthy,  aoid  attractive  situation  seven  miles  from 
Farmville  and  about  eighty  miles  from  Richmond.  The  vil- 
lage of  Hampden-Sidney  and  the  College  buildings  are 
lighted  by  electricity  supplied  from  Farmville.  At  the 
present  time  there  are  seventeen  buildings  in  the  College 
group,  residences  included,  and  the  grounds  comprise  some 
two  hundred  and  twenty-six  acres,  with  one  hundred  and 
thirty  and  six-tenths  acres  still  to  come  from  the  Venables' 
estate. 

It  is  said  that  more  instructors  have  come  from  this  insti- 
tution, than  from  any  other  in  the  Southern  States. 

The  Presidents  of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  since  its 
inception,  are  as  follows: 

Rev.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  1775-1779. 

Rev.  John  Blair  Smith,  D.D.,  1779-1789. 

Rev.  Drury  Lacy,  D.D.,  1789-1797. 

Rev.  Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  1797-1806. 

Rev.  Moses  Hoge,  D.D.,  1807-1820. 

Jonathan  P.  Cushing,  A.M.,  1821-1835. 

Rev.  Daniel  Lynn  Carroll,  D.D.,  1835-1838. 

Rev.  William  Maxwell,  LL.D.,  1838-1844. 

Rev.  Patrick  J.  Sparrow,  D.D.,  1845-1847. 

Rev.  Lewis  W.  Green,  D.D.,  1848-1856. 

Rev.  John  M.  P.  Atkinson,  D.D.,  1857-1883. 

Rev.  Robert  Mcllwaine,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  1883-1904. 

Rev.  James  Gray  McAllister,  D.D.,  1905-1908. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  295 

Rev.  Henry  Tucker  Graham,  D.  D.,  1908-1917. 
Joseph  DuPuy  Eggleston,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  1919. 

The  broken  periods  in  the  above  line  were  filled  by  Com- 
mittees and  Acting  Presidents,  the  following  serving  in  one 
or  other  of  these  capacites:  William  S.  Reid,  D.D.,  1807; 
Messrs.  M.  Lyle,  James  Morton,  William  Berkeley,  John 
Miller,  J.  P.  Wilson,  1820-1821;  George  A.  Baxter,  D.D.,  1835; 
S.  B.  Wilson,  D.D.,  F.  S.  Sampson,  D.D.,  1847-1848;  Charles 
Martin,  A.B.,  1848-1849,  1856-1857;  Rev.  Albert  L.  Holladay 
(Died  before  taking  office),  1856;  James  R.  Thornton.  A.M., 
1904;  William  H.  Whiting,  Jr.,  A.M.,  1904-1905,  1908-1909; 
J.  H.  C.  Bagby,  Ph.D.,  1906;  Ashton  W.  McWhorter,  A.M., 
Ph.D.,  1917-1919. 

Amongst  the  notable  names  in  the  long  and  honorable 
history  of  Hampden-Sidney,  none  shine  with  greater  bril- 
liance than  that  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  to  whom 
is  given  the  credit  for  the  founding  of  the  original  Prince 
Edward  Academy.  He  was  a  native  of  Lancaster  county, 
Penna.,  and  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  of  the 
class  of  1769.  He  subsequently  united  with  the  Presbytery  of 
Hanover,  Virginia,  and  so  pressed  the  cause  of  education  as 
to  make  his  name  historic  in  the  early  annals  of  the  Common- 
wealth. He  was  the  first  Rector  of  the  Academy,  and,  under 
his  control  and  direction,  and  stirred  by  his  almost  magical 
influence,  it  attained  a  remarkable  prosperity.  He  resigned  in 
October,  1779,  in  order  to  accept  the  professorship  of  Moral 
Philosophy  in  his  Alma  Mater  in  New  Jersey,  and  his  broth- 
er, the  Rev.  John  Blair  Smith,  was  appointed  to  succeed 
him.  He  was  the  last  Rector  of  the  Academy,  and  the  first 
President  of  the  College  proper.  These  two  remarkable  men, 
brothers,  exerted  a  permanent  and  lasting  influnce  upon  the 
religious  and  the  educational  life  of  the  Commonwealth. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  not  so  much  respect  for  "moral 


296  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

suasion"  was  entertained  at  Hampden- Sidney  in  those  early 
days,  as  to  exclude  at  least  occasional  recourse  to  corporeal 
punishment.  This  form  of  punishment  was  generally  re- 
served for  the  members  of  the  grammar  school,  but  the  su- 
perior dignity  of  the  Sophomores  and  the  Juniors  was  not 
always  safe  from  invasion,  though  the  Collegiate  classes  were 
usually  exempt. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  note  that  in  the  early  financial  prob- 
lems of  the  institution,  the  trustees  did  not  hold  back  from 
accepting  the  friendly  aid  of  the  lottery  schemes,  at  that 
time  flourishing.  At  so  late  a  date  as  1797,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  Board,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  installation  of  Dr.  Archi- 
bald Alexander,  afterwards  the  founder  of  the  Theological 
School  of  Princeton,  as  President  of  the  College,  a  petition 
to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  state  for  a  lottery  to  be 
conducted  in  favor  of  Hampden-Sidney,  was  most  gravely 
approved  and  recorded ! 

From  1776,  through  to  1820,  the  Academy,  and  later  the 
College,  were  enabled  to  exist  through  the  union  of  the  pas- 
toral office  with  the  Presidency  of  the  school;  the  President 
of  the  College  being  later  installed  as  Pastor  of  the  Prince 
Edward  and  Cumberland  Churches.  In  1820  that  union  was 
permanently  dissolved. 

The  Hanover  Presbytery  was  determined  in  its  choice  of 
the  site  for  the  school,  by  the  liberality  of  Peter  Johnston  of 
Prince  Edward  county,  who  donated  about  one  hundred 
acres  of  land  in  his  county  for  the  purposes  of  Prince  Ed- 
ward Academy.  The  land  was  situated  in  the  tobacco-grow- 
ing section,  where  money  currency  had  but  limited  circula- 
tion. This  Peter  Johnston,  of  Longwood,  was  a  Scotchman, 
and  a  member  of  the  Scottish  Episcopal  Church.  He  was 
the  friend  and  correspondent  of  the  father  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  was  the  adjutant  of  General  Lighthorse  Harry 
Lee's  famous  Legion  during  the  Revolutionary  War.    His 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  297 

son,  Peter  Johnston,  was  a  member  of  the  first  class  of  the 
institution,  and  was  the  father  of  the  famous  Gen.  Joseph 
E.  Johnston  of  Virginia  fame. 

Among  the  Trustees  of  the  original  Academy  may  be 
noted  the  names  of  James  Madison  (1751-1836)  fourth  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  Patrick  Henry  (who  is  be- 
lieved to  have  drafted  the  college  charter)  subsequently  Gov- 
ernor of  Virginia.  These  names,  amongst  others,  indicate 
that  the  institution  was  a  product  of  the  struggle  for  reli- 
gious and  civil  liberty. 

The  legislative  government  of  the  College  was  originally 
vested  in  twenty-seven  Trustees,  who  had  authority  to  fill 
all  vacancies  occurring  in  their  own  body.  The  following  is 
a  partial  list  of  the  original  incorporators  and  trustees :  Rich- 
ard Sankey,  John  Todd,  Samuel  Leake,  Caleb  Wallace, 
Peter  Johnston  (donor  of  the  land),  Col.  Paul  Carrington, 
Col.  John  Nash,  Jr.,  Capt.  John  Morton,  Capt.  Nathaniel 
Venable,  Col.  \Thomas  Read,  James  Venable,  Francis  N. 
Watkins.  The  following  were  subsequently  added  to  this 
number:  Rev.  David  Rice,  Col.  Patrick  Henry,  Col.  John 
Tabb,  Col.  William  Cabell,  and  Col.  James  Madison,  Jr. 

The  College  succeeded  the  Academy  in  1783  by  Act  of 
the  General  Assembly,  of  that  date,  and  the  following  were 
noted  as  the  incorporators:  Rev.  John  Blair  Smith,  Patrick 
Henry,  William  Cabell,  Sr.,  Paul  Carrington,  Robert  Law- 
son,  James  Madison,  John  Nash,  Nathaniel  Venable,  Francis 
Watkins,  John  Morton,  Thomas  Reade,  William  Booker, 
"Hhomas  Scott,  Sr.,  James  Allen,  Charles  Allen,  Samuel 
Woodson  Venable,  Joseph  Parke,  Richard  Foster,  Peter  John- 
ston, Rev.  Richard  Sankey,  Rev.  John  Todd,  Rev.  David  Rice, 
Rev.  Archibald  McRobert,  Everard  Meade,  Joel  Watkins, 
James  Venable,  and  William  Morton. 

By   an  Amendment  to   the   Charter,   secured   February, 


298  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

1919,  the  number  of  trustees  was  reduced  to  twenty-five,  and 
vacancies  occurring  in  the  Board  to  be  filled  by  the  Synod 
of  Virginia. 

The  following  constitute  the  Board  of  Trustees  at  the 
present  time  (1921) :  J.  B.  Bittinger,  D.D.,  Charles  A. 
Blanton,  M.D.,  J.  E.  Booker,  D.D.,  W.  C.  Campbell,  D.D., 
A.  B.  Carrington,  A.  B.  Dickinson,  Hon.  Don  P.  Halsey,  J. 
Nat  Harrison,  Hon.  H.  R.  Houston,  Hon.  F.  B.  Hutton, 
Paulus  A.  Irving,  M.D.,  Hon.  C.  P.  Janney,  Col.  C.  C.  Lewis, 
Jr.,  F.  T.  McFaden,  D.D.,  H.  W.  McLaughlin,  D.D.,  W.  W. 
Moore,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  J.  Scott  Parish,  Col.  John  H.  Pinner, 
W.  H.  T.  Squires,  D.D.,  Ernest  Thompson,  D.D.,  Hon.  James 
L.  Treadway,  Hon.  E.  Lee  Trinkle,  A.  L.  Tynes,  M.D., 
Hon.  A.  D.  Watkins,  B.  F.  Wison,  D.D. 

The  literary  degrees  conferred  under  the  Charter,  were 
first  bestowed,  September  22nd,  1786,  at  which  time  the  de- 
gree of  A.  B.  was  awarded  Kemp  Plummer,  David  Meade, 
James  Watt,  Ebenezer  McRoberts,  Thomas  McRoberts,  Nash 
lieGrand,  and  John  W.  Eppes,  seven  in  all.  The  last  two 
distinguished  themselves  in  after  life,  the  one  as  an  Evangel- 
ist, the  other  as  a  member  of  Congress. 

The  following  compose  the  Faculty  of  the  institution  at 
the  present  time : 

Joseph  DuPuy  Eggleston,  A.M.,  LL.D.,  President.  (See, 
"Who's  Who  in  Prince  Edward.") 

A.  W.  McWhorter,  A.M.,  Ph.D.  Dean. 

Henry  Clay  Brock,  B.  Lit.,  Professor  Emeritus  of  Greek. 

J.  H.  C.  Bagby,  M.A.,  M.E.,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Physics 
and  Astronomy. 

J.  H.  C.  Winston,  A.B.,  B.S.,  PhD.,  Professor  of  Chem- 
istry and  Geology. 

William  H.  Whiting,  Jr.,  A.B.,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Latin 
and  Spanish. 


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History  of  Prince  Edward  County  290 

Ashton  W.  McWhorter,  A.M.,  Ph.D.,  Professor  of  Greek. 

John  A.  Clarke,  A.B.,  M.A.,  Professor  of  French  and 
German. 

Asa  D.  Watkins,  A.B.,  B.D.,  Professor  of  English. 

James  S.  Miller,  B.S.,  C.E.,  Sc.D.,  Professor  of  Mathe- 
matics. 

J.  B.  Massey,  A.B.,  B.D.,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Bible,  Phil- 
osophy, and  Psj^chology. 

Thomas  Gary  Johnson,  Jr.,  B.A.,  M.A.,  Professor  of 
History  and  Economics. 

Thomas  Smyth,  B.S.,  Professor  of  Biology. 

Benjamin  D.  Painter,  A.B.,  B.S.,  Assistant  in  Mathe- 
matics and  Modern  Languages. 

F.  T.  McFaden,  Instructor  in  Mathematics. 

Despite  the  fact  that  repeated  efforts  have  been  made 
to  secure  an  adequate  endowment,  it  is  a  fact  that  Hampden- 
Sidney  has  today  the  smallest  endowment  of  any  standard 
College  in  the  whole  Southland. 

Founded  in  faith  and  prayer,  it  makes  a  confident  appeal 
to  the  aid  and  loyalty  of  its  constituency;  the  whole  of  the 
United  States  of  America! 

The  usual  Societies  and  Fraternities  flourish  among  the 
students. 

Athletics  also  flourish,  a  fine  athletic  field  of  some  five 
or  six  acres — Venable  Field — immediately  adjoins  the  college 
buildings. 

A  fine  library  of  some  15,000  volumes  is  available  to 
the  student. 

The  present  enrollment  of  the  College  is  one  hundred  and 
eighty. 

Some  four  hundred  former  students  of  Hampden- Sidney 
saw  service  during  the  Great  World  War,  eleven  of  whom 
made  the  Supreme  Sacrifice. 


300  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

UNION  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

This  institution  originated  in  the  efforts  of  the  Han- 
over Presbytery  and  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  to  give  the  can- 
didates for  their  ministry  a  more  complete  theological  train- 
ing than  was  then  available.  Such  efforts  were  put  forth  as 
early  as  1812,  but  it  did  not  get  into  regular  operation  until 
1824.  It  was  located  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Hampden- 
Sidney.  It  had  a  very  successful  history  but  was  moved  to 
Richmond  in  1898.  Many  of  the  most  successful  ministers  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  look  back  with  fond  recollections  to 
the  years  spent  at  the  Union  Theolgical  Seminary  while  it 
was  located  in  Prince  Edward  County. 

To  the  Rev.  John  Holt  Rice,  D.D.,  born  November  28, 
1777,  and  who  died  in  Prince  Edward  County,  September 
2,  1831,  belongs  the  credit  for  the  founding  of  this  institution. 
He  was  then  an  instructor  at  Hampden-Sidney.  It  was  at 
the  head  of  the  Seminary  that  he  passed  his  last  years.  He 
was  famous  as  an  orator  of  unusual  powers  and  as  a  writer 
of  ease,  fertility  and  force. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  301 

STATE  FEMALE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

On  March  5th,  1839,  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  incor- 
porated "The  Farmville  Female  Seminary  Association." 
Messrs.  W.  C.  Flournoy;  James  E.  Venable;  Thomas  Flour- 
noy;  William  Wilson;  George  Daniel;  Willis  Blanton;  and 
James  Ely  were  the  incorporators.  The  capital  stock  was 
$30,000,  to  be  divided  into  300  shares  each,  of  the  par  value 
of  $100:     {Acts  of  1839,  page  120). 

By  deed  dated  May  26th,  1842,  George  Whitfield  Read 
and  Charlotte  his  wife,  in  consideration  of  $1,400,  conveyed 
to  "The  Farmville  Female  Seminary  Association,"  lots  Nos. 
105  and  107  containing  one  acre  of  land.  These  lots  were 
the  same  which  James  Madison,  trustee  for  Josiah  Chambers, 
had,  in  consideration  of  $1,250,  conveyed  to  George  W.  Read 
by  a  deed  dated  April  3rd,  1836.  For  these  deeds  see  Deed 
Book  22,  page  56,  and  Deed  Book  23,  page  384. 

While  excavating  for  the  foundation  of  a  new  building 
that  was  erected  for  the  State  Female  Normal  School,  in 
1897,  the  Corner  Stone  in  the  old  building  of  the  Farmville 
Female  Seminary,  above  referred  to,  was  dug  up  and  opened. 
There  was  no  box  in  the  stone,  but  a  hole  about  4  by  5  inches, 
and  3  inches  deep.  Across  the  top  of  this  hole  was  a  silver 
plate,  bearing  the  following  inscription: 

Farmville  Female 

Academy 

Built  by  Joint  Stock 

Company,  A.  D.  1839. 

Inside  of  the  hole  was  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament,  a 
newspaper,  three  silver  coins — 5,  10,  and  25  cent  pieces — and  a 
Masonic  emblem  or  badge.  The  back  was  all  that  remained 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  the  letters  on  that  faded  away 
a  few  minutes  after  being  exposed  to  the  air.  A  piece  of  the 
newspaper  about  an  inch  square  could  be  read. 


302  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

This  original  building  was  completed  in  1842  and  was  at 
once  occupied  and  used  for  the  purposes  for  which  it  was 
erected.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the  final  payment  of  the 
purchase  price  of  the  property  was  made. 

Solomon  Lee,  Esq.,  was  first  in  charge  as  Principal.  He 
was  followed  after  a  few  years  by  his  brother,  Rev.  Lorenzo 
Lee.  A  northern  man  named  Coburn,  and  remembered  main- 
ly as  the  possessor  of  a  very  long  nose,  succeeded  him.  Then 
in  1850  Mr.  John  B.  Tinsley  succeeded  to  the  office  of  Princi- 
pal, and  was  succeeded  in  rather  rapid  succession  by  two 
men  named  Gould  and  Lamont,  respectively.  About  1860 
Mr.  A.  Preot,  Esq.,  assumed  the  reins  and  remained  some  nine 
or  ten  years,  which  included  the  difficult  years  of  the  war 
and  the  more  difficult  years  of  the  Re- Construction  Period  that 
succeeded.  A  Rev.  Mr.  Crawley  conducted  a  school  there 
for  one  year  during  1871  or  1872.  He  was  succeeded  by 
the  Rev.  Paul  Whitehead,  who  was  followed  for  a  short  term 
by  a  Miss  Carter. 

By  an  Act  of  the  Legislature,  passed  May  24th,  1860,  the 
charter  of  the  company  was  amended,  and  the  name  changed 
to  "The  Farmville  Female  College."  This  corporation  held 
the  property  until  Janaury  15th,  1873,  when  it  was  con- 
veyed by  deed  to  Mr.  G.  M.  Bickers,  pursuant  to  a  resolution 
adopted  by  the  stockholders  in  a  meeting  held  July  1st,  1870, 
when  they  determined  to  sell  and,  after  paying  its  debts,  dis- 
tribute the  proceeds  amongst  the  stockholders.  By  deed 
dated  May  29th,  1882,  Mr.  Bickers  conveyed  the  property  to 
the  Rev.  Paul  Whitehead  and  others,  Mr.  Whitehead  being 
the  Principal  of  the  College  at  that  time. 

By  deed  dated  April  7th,  1884,  "The  Farmville  College," 
a  corporation  of  which  the  aforementioned  Rev.  Paul  White- 
head was  President,  conveyed  it  to  the  town  of  Farmville, 
and,  by  a  deed  of  the  same  date,  the  town  of  Farmville  con- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  303 

veyed  it  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  in  consideration  that  the 
State  would  establish  on  it  a  Female  Normal  School. 

"A  system  of  free  schools  for  Virginia  was  established, 
July  11,  1870,  by  the  first  Legislature  to  assemble  after  the 
War  between  the  States.  As  these  schools  struggled  year 
after  year  for  a  stable  footing,  it  became  more  and  more  evi- 
dent that  they  must  be  supplied  with  specially  trained  teach- 
ers before  they  could  reach  the  desired  efficiency.  To  make 
provision  for  this  pressing  need,  the  Legislature  at  its  regu- 
lar session  in  March,  1884,  passed  the  following  Act  estab- 
lishing the  Normal  School : 

"Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia: 

1.  That  there  shall  be  established,  as  hereinafter  provid- 
ed, a  normal  school  expressly  for  the  training  and  education 
of  white  female  teachers  for  public  schools. 

2.  The  school  shall  be  under  the  supervision,  manage- 
ment and  government  of  W.  H.  Kuffner,  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  John 
B.  Minor,  K.  M.  Manly,  L.  R.  Holland,  John  L.  Buchanan, 
L.  A.  Michie,  F.  N.  Watkins,  S.  C.  Armstrong,  W.  B.  Talia- 
ferro, George  O.  Conrad,  W.  E.  Gaines,  and  W.  W.  Herbert, 
as  a  board  of  trustees.  In  case  of  any  vacancy,  caused  by 
death,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  the  successor  shall  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor.  The  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction shall  be  ex-officio  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees. 

3.  Said  trustees  shall,  from  time  to  time,  make  all  need- 
ful rules  and  regulations  for  the  good  government  and  man- 
agement of  the  school,  to  fix  the  number  and  compensation 
of  the  teachers  and  others  to  be  employed  in  the  school,  and 
to  prescribe  the  preliminary  examination  and  conditions  on 
which  students  shall  be  received  and  instructed  therein.  They 
may  appoint  an  executive  committee,  of  whom  the  Superin- 
tendent shall  be  one,  for  the  care,  management  and  govern- 
ment of  said  school,  under  the  rules  and  regulations  prescribed 


304  History  of  Prince  Edioard  County 


as  aforesaid.  The  trustees  shall  annually  transmit  to  the  Gov- 
ernor a  full  account  of  their  proceedings  under  this  act,  to- 
gether with  a  report  of  the  progress,  condition  and  prospects 
of  the  school. 

4.  The  trustees  shall  establish  said  school  at  Farmville, 
in  the  County  of  Prince  Edward;  provided  said  town  shall 
cause  to  be  conveyed  to  the  State  of  Virginia,  by  proper 
deed,  the  property  in  said  town  known  as  the  Farmville  Fe- 
male College;  and  if  the  said  property  is  not  so  conveyed, 
then  the  said  trustees  shall  establish  said  school  in  such  other 
place  as  shall  convey  to  the  State  suitable  grounds  and  build- 
ings for  the  purpose  of  said  school. 

5.  Each  city  of  five  hundred  inhabitants,  and  each  coun- 
ty'' in  the  States  shall  be  entitled  to  one  pupil,  and  for  each 
additional  representative  in  the  House  of  Delegates  above 
one,  who  shall  receive  gratuitous  instruction.  The  trustees 
shall  provide  rules  for  the  selection  of  such  pupils  and  for 
their  examination,  and  shall  require  such  pupil  selected,  to 
give  satisfactory  evidence  of  an  intention  to  teach  in  the  pub- 
lic schools  of  the  State  for  at  least  two  years  after  leaving 
the  said  normal  school. 

6.  The  sum  of  five  thousand  dollars  is  hereby  appro- 
priated to  defray  the  expenses  of  establishing  and  continuing 
said  school.  The  money  shall  be  expended  for  that  purpose 
under  the  direction  of  the  trustees,  upon  whose  requisition 
the  Governor  is  hereby  authorized  to  draw  his  warrant 
on  the  treasury. 

7.  There  shall  be  appropriated  annually,  out  of  the  treas- 
ury of  the  State  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  to  pay  inci- 
dental expenses,  the  salaries  of  officers  and  teachers,  and  to 
maintain  the  efficiency  of  the  school,  said  sum  to  be  paid  out 
of  the  public  free  school  fund;  provided,  however,  that  the 
Commonwealth  will  not  in  any  instance  be  responsible  for 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  305 

any  debt  contracted,  or  expenditure  made  by  the  institution 
in  excess  of  the  appropriation  herein  made. 

8.  The  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  shall  ren- 
der to  the  Second  Auditor  an  annual  account  of  the  expendi- 
tures under  this  act." 


It  was  not  until  1886,  however,  that  the  institution  was 
incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  under  the  name  of  the  State 
Female  Normal  School. 

That  Farmville  secured  the  school  was  owning  to  the 
fact  that  the  town  offered  to  give  to  the  State  a  building 
formerly  used  as  a  girls'  school,  and  this  offer  was  warmly 
supported  by  such  influential  men  as  Dr.  W.  H.  Kuffner,  Dr. 
James  Nelson,  then  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Farm- 
ville, and  Dr.  W.  H.  H.  Thackston,  at  that  time  mayor  of 
Farmville  and  most  anxious  to  promote  its  interests. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  held  in 
Richmond,  April  9,  1884,  and  organized  by  the  election  of 
Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  president.  Dr.  J.  L.  Buchanan,  vice- 
president,  and  Judge  F.  N.  Watkins  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  Board  was  confronted  by  a  serious  difficulty  at  the 
outset  in  the  shape  of  the  seventh  section  of  the  law  establish- 
ing the  school.  This  provided  that  the  money  set  apart  for 
the  support  of  the  school  should  be  taken  from  the  public 
free  school  funds.  The  question  was  at  once  raised  as  to  its 
constitutionality.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  Attorney-Gen- 
eral, and,  later,  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  that  the  seventh 
section  was  "unconstitutional  and  void"  in  so  far  as  it  at- 
tempted to  divert  the  public  school  funds. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  thus  found  itself  without  funds  for 
the  proposed  w^ork,  until  an  extra  session  of  the  Legislature 
amended  the  section,  August  23,  1884,  by  passing  a  law  re- 
quiring that  the  ten  thousand  dollars  be  paid  out  of  the  treas- 


306  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

ury  of  the  State,  "which  was  just  what  should  have  been  done 
at  first." 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board,  Dr.  W.  H.  Ruffner 
was  unanimously  chosen  president.  At  the  same  meeting  a 
committee  composed  of  Dr.  Ruffner,  Dr.  Curry,  and  Dr.  Buch- 
anan, was  appointed  to  formulate  a  plan  of  organization 
of  the  school.  The  committee  made  its  report  June  10,  1884, 
but,  because  of  the  delay  in  getting  the  funds  to  run  the 
school,  the  report  was  not  adopted  until  September  17,  1884. 
The  school  was  then  ordered  to  be  opened  October  30th,  fol- 
lowing, although,  to  quote  Dr.  Ruffner's  words,  all  they  had 
was  "a  principal,  an  appropriation,  a  rough  scheme,  and  an 
old  academy  building, — not  a  teacher,  nor  a  book,  nor  a 
piece  of  apparatus  or  furniture." 

The  school  was  opened  promptly  at  the  appointed  time, 
however,  with  Dr.  Ruffner  as  president;  Miss  Celeste  E. 
Bush,  of  Connecticut,  as  vice-president;  Miss  Clara  M.  Brim- 
blecom,  of  Boston,  for  vocal  music;  and  Miss  Lillian  A. 
Lee,  of  Connecticut,  for  drawing  and  mathematics.  To  this 
number  were  later  added  Miss  Pauline  Gash,  of  North  Caro- 
lina, teacher  of  English;  and  Mrs.  Clara  Bartkowska,  of  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  to  have  charge  of  the  preparatory  school.  These 
six  persons  formed  the  first  Faculty  of  the  school.  During 
the  first  year  Mr.  Beverly  H.  Robertson  was  added  to  this 
faculty  as  teacher  of  science,  Latin,  and  algebra;  and  Miss 
Belle  Johnson,  as  teacher  of  piano  music.  In  this  first  ses- 
sion there  were  enrolled  one  hundred  and  ten  students,  of 
whom  forty-four  were  accommodated  in  the  building.  There 
were  three  graduates,  viz:  Annie  Lydia  Blanton;  Lulu  M. 
Duncan;  and  Lulu  O.  Philips. 

To  Dr.  W.  H.  Ruffner,  and  to  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  un- 
doubtedly belongs  the  credit  for  the  Normal  School  idea  in 
Virginia,  and  the  State  was  fortunate  indeed  in  securing  the 
services  of  two  such  able  men  to  launch  and  guide  the  new 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  307 

undertaking.  By  this  means  the  new  venture  set  out  on 
correct  Normal  School  lines  and  the  vexations,  due  to  con- 
stant experimentations,  were  thus  avoided.  Thus  the  pioneer 
school  of  its  kind  in  the  Southland  was  assured  a  proper 
foundation,  and  Farmville  Female  Normal  School  was  a  suc- 
cess from  the  very  start. 

A  more  extended  note  respecting  these  two  remarkable 
men  will  be  found  in  chapter  thirteen,  on  biography. 

The  school  had  in  turn,  the  following  to  serve  in  the  office 
of  President :  Dr.  William  Henry  Ruffner,  1884-1887.  James 
Atkinson  Cunningham,  LL.D.,  1887-1896.  Robert  Fraser, 
LL.D.,  1898-1902.  Joseph  L.  Jarman,  A.B.,  LL.D.,  1902,  to 
the  present  time.  (See  further,  Chapters  on  Biography  and 
Who's  Who). 

When  Dr.  Jarman  assumed  the  presidency  of  the  in- 
stitution, the  entire  plant;  grounds,  buildingSj^^  etc.j,  were 
valued  at  only  $90,000;  the  present  valuation  exceeds  $500,- 
000.  During  Dr.  Jarman's  regime,  twenty-eight  separate  pieces 
of  property  have  been  purchased,  so  that  the  school  grounds 
now  comprise  some  twelve  acres  all  told. 

For  thirty-seven  years  Mr.  Benjamin  M.  Cox  has  served 
the  institution  as  Business  Manager.  His  daughter,  Miss 
Mary  White  Cox,  is  the  efficient  Head  of  the  Home  Depart- 
ment. 

Mrs.  Bessie  G.  Jamison  is  the  housekeeper. 

Miss  Lillian  V.  Nunn  is  the  supervisor  of  the  laundry 
department. 

Mr.  William  Marshall  Atkinson  is  the  college  constable. 


308  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Statistics  of  Growth 

tStudents 

1884-1885 121       1899-1900 ...351 

1889-1890 248       1909-1910 616 

1921-1922 637 

Faculty 

1884-1885 8       1899-1900 13 

1889-1890 9       1909-1910 32 

1921-1922 42 

Home  Department 

1884-1885 .-     1*  1899-1900 3 

1889-1890 2  1909-1910 12 

1921-1922_...L 13 

Lady  Principal 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  309 

COLORED  SCHOOLS 

This  sketch  of  the  colored  schools  of  the  county,  like  the 
sketch  of  the  colored  churches,  was  furnished  by  the  Rev. 
P.  W.  Price,  a  most  excellent  colored  preacher,  who,  in  ad- 
dition to  his  pastoral  duties  (he  serves  a  group  of  colored 
Baptist  churches)  is  also  the  principal  of  the  splendid  col- 
ored school  at  Farmville,  with  an  enrollment  of  about  400 
children  under  his  care.  The  sketch  is  given  almost  verbatim. 
The  attention  of  the  careful  reader  will  be  arrested  by  the 
statement  of  the  exceedingly  short  and  inadequate  school 
term,  and  by  the  beggarly  salary  paid  the  teachers  of  these 
schools. 

A  few  years  after  the  Civil  War,  when  the  days  of  the 
re-construction  were  well  over,  the  doors  of  a  few  public 
schools  were  opened  to  colored  people.  These  schools,  about 
six  to  begin  with,  were  taught  by  white  people  for  some 
years,  until  some  of  the  colored  students  became  qualified  to 
assume  the  task  of  teaching. 

The  real  thirst  for  an  education  on  the  part  of  the  colored 
community  has  added  very  greatly  to  the  school  advantages 
presented  to  colored  students  and,  at  the  same  time,  created 
a  deep  sympathy  in  the  hearts  of  many  white  friends. 

Hundreds  of  those  who  attended  these  colored  schools 
of  the  county,  have  finished  higher  schools,  returned  to  their 
homes,  and  through  strenuous  effort,  and  with  the  co-operation 
of  the  school  authorities,  have  increased  the  number  of  colored 
schools  in  the  county  to  thirty-three,  with  a  teaching  force  of 
fifty-one. 

The  average  length  of  the  school  term  is  from  five  to  six 
months,  and  the  average  monthly  salary  of  the  teachers,  be- 
tween $35  and  $40. 


l^xime  lEhmarh  (Eaxad^  l&laQtufif^ 


1. 

Henry  Watkins  Allen. 

2. 

J.  L.  M.  Curry. 

3. 

John  Atkinson  Cunningham. 

4. 

Asa  D.  Dickinson. 

5. 

Walter  Gray  Dunnington. 

6. 

Kobert  Fraser. 

7. 

Patrick  Henry. 

8. 

Joseph  Eggleston  Johnson. 

9. 

John  Peter  Mettauer. 

10. 

James  Nelson. 

11. 

William  Henry  Kuffner. 

12. 

Francis  N.  Watkhis. 

13. 

Peter  Winston. 

14. 

Daniel  Witt. 

History  of  Prince  Edward  County  313 


PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  BIOGRAPHY 

HENRY  WATKINS  ALLEN:    Brigadier-General,  Confed- 
erate States  Army,  and  Ex-Governor  of  Louisana. 

Henry  Watkins  Allen  was  bom  in  the  county  of  Prince 
Edward,  near  Farmville  on  the  29th  day  of  April,  1820. 

His  father,  Dr.  Thomas  Allen,  a  graduate  of  Hampden- 
Sidney  College,  was  of  Scotch  extraction.  His  mother,  Ann 
Watkins,  was  descended  from  a  Welsh  family. 

The  first  mention  of  a  "Watkins"  in  the  history  of  Vir- 
ginia, was  of  one  "James  Watkins,"  a  companion  of  "Captain 
John  Smith,"  in  his  expeditions  of  1607-8.  The  Watkins  are 
related  to  many  of  the  best  Virginia  families;  the  Finchards, 
Carringtons,  Venables,  etc.  In  the  Revolutionary  War  a 
troop  of  horse,  known  as  "Watkins  Troop,"  raised  in  Prince 
Edward  county,  fought  with  conspicuous  bravery;  their 
leader,  Thomas  Watkins,  grandson  of  Thomas  Watkins  of 
Chickahominy,  at  the  battle  of  Guilford  Court  House, 
March,  1781,  was  distinguished  for  his  gallantry;  winning 
laurels  in  single  combat. 

Henry  W.,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  the  fourth  son 
of  Dr.  Allen.  A  biographer  (Sarah  A.  Dorsey)  describes 
him  as  "rash,  but  true;  quick,  but  not  malignant;  flashing 
with  sudden  ire,  but  sweet  and  sound  in  temper;  with  noth- 
ing hidden,  nothing  mean,  heartfelt  warmth,  earnest  affec- 
tion, constancy,  generosity,  no  revenge,  with  a  softness  and 
tenderness  of  soul  almost  feminine." 

In  1833,  Mrs.  Allen  having  previously  died,  Dr.  Allen, 
with  his  motherless  children,  moved  into  Kay  county,  Mis- 
souri, leaving  the  remains  of  the  gentle  wife  and  mother  to 
rest  beneath  the  green  sod  of  "Old  Virginia." 


314  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

With  the  subsequent  history  of  Allen  we  may  not  deal  in 
detail  in  so  short  a  sketch,  save  to  note  the  fact  that  in  1861  he 
re-visited  Virginia,  and  spent  a  short  time  with  his  relatives 
in  Prince  Edward  county.  Whilst  there  he  went  to  the  family 
cemetery  to  see  his  mother's  grave.  "Never,"  says  his  cousin, 
the  late  Honorable  Francis  N.  Watkins,  father  of  Judge  Asa 
D.  Watkins,  present  Commonwealth's  Attorney,  a  sketch  of 
whose  life  appears  elsewhere  in  tjhis  work,  "did  I  wit- 
ness such  uncontrollable  emotion  as  seized  him  as  he  ap- 
proached that  hallowed  spot." 

Henry  Watkins  Allen  died  in  exile,  in  the  city  of  Mexico, 
on  Sunday,  April  22nd,  1866,  at  11  o'clock  in  the  morning. 


WALTER    GRAY    DUNNINGTON 

See    Page    320. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  316 

DK.  J.  L.  M.  CUREY.     Born  in  Georgia,  1825.     Died  in 
Asheville,  N.  C,  February  12,  1903. 

His  father  was  a  prominent  landholder  and  slaveowner 
of  Georgia,  but  the  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  his  early 
life  on  a  plantation  in  Alabama.  He  graduated  from  the 
University  of  Greorgia  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen,  then 
studied  law  at  Harvard  University,  graduating  when  twenty 
years  of  age.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  became  a  member 
of  the  United  States  Congress  from  1857  to  1861,  when  his 
fine  gifts  of  oratory  attracted  much  favorable  attention. 

In  1866-67  Dr.  Curry  served  as  President  of  Howard 
College,  Alabama.  For  thirteen  years  he  was  Professor  in 
Kichmond  College  and  also  President  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees of  that  institution.  He  often  occupied  the  pulpit  as 
preacher,  although  he  had  no  regular  charge.  He  was  at 
one  time  President  of  the  Foreign  Mission  Board  of  the 
Southern  Baptist  Convention. 

For  twenty-two  years  as  agent  of  the  Peabody  Fund, 
and  for  twelve  years  of  the  Slater  Fund  (which  was  used 
exclusively  for  the  education  of  the  negro)  he  had  more  to  do 
with  the  organization  of  the  common  school  system  of  the 
south  than  any  other  man.  While  agent  for  these  two  funds. 
Dr.  Curry  was  twice  sent  to  represent  his  country  at  a  for- 
eign court;  first  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Spain  by  ap- 
pointment of  President  Cleveland,  and  afterwards  as  repre- 
sentative at  the  Coronation  of  the  Spanish  king.  , 

It  was  under  Dr.  Curry's  leadership  that  the  establish- 
ment of  State  Normal  Schools  was  inaugurated  in  the  South. 
It  was  he  who  originally  drafted  the  bill  for  the  Virginia 
School  at  Farmville.  He  was  elected  the  first  President  of 
its  Board  of  Trustees. 

Before  coming  to  his  work  in  Farmville,  he  was  already 
distinguished  as  a  statesman,  diplomat,  educator,  and  author. 

He  died  at  seventy-eight  years  of  age,  at  Asheville,  N. 
C,  on  February  12,  1903. 


316  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

DR.  JOHN  ATKINSON  CUNNINGHAM.    Bom,  June  24, 
1846.    Died,  Octoher  9,  1898. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  the  second  President  of  the 
State  Female  Normal  School  of  Farmville,  Va.,  was  born  in 
Richmond,  Virginia,  June  24,  1846.  His  paternal  grandfath- 
er, Edward  Cunningham,  came  from  Ireland,  to  Virginia  in 
1770,  and  made  a  large  fortune  through  establishing  iron 
works  that  were  situated  near  the  present  site  of  the  Trede- 
gar mills  in  Richmond,  and,  through  a  chain  of  country  stores 
which  extended  from  Virginia  nearly  to  Ohio.  The  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  bearing  the  same  name,  received 
his  schooling  at  William  and  Mary,  at  Harvard,  and  at  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  latter  institution  he 
graduated  in  medicine  in  1825.  He  married  Miss  Mary  John- 
ston, a  granddaughter  of  Peter  Johnston  of  Longwood,  near 
Farmville,  and  donor  of  the  land  on  which  now  stands  Hamp- 
den-Sidney  College. 

John  Atkinson  Cunningham,  Junior,  was  the  only  child 
of  this  union.  He  was  very  delicate  in  health  and  received 
most  of  his  early  education  from  a  French  governess.  After- 
wards he  attended  private  schools,  but  immediately  before  the 
breaking  out  of  the  War  between  the  States,  he  was  a  pupil 
at  New  London  Academy,  Bedford  County. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  entered  the  Confederate  Army 
and  served  as  a  private  to  the  end  of  that  struggle.  After 
the  war  he  pursued  his  studies  at  the  University  of  Virginia, 
where  he  graduated  in  chemistry,  Latin,  moral  philosophy, 
natural  philosophy,  pure  mathematics,  and  French.  He  after- 
wards receive  his  Master's  degree  from  the  University  of 
Nashville,  and  in  1896  Hampden- Sidney  College  gave  him  the 
honorary  degree  of  LL.D. 

In  1874  Mr.  Cunningham  married  Miss  Florence  Boyd, 
of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  who  lived  for  not  more  than  a  year 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  317 

afterwards.  In  1887  he  married  Miss  Martha  Eggleston, 
daughter  of  Mr.  Stephen  Eggleston,  of  Cumberland  county, 
Virginia. 

For  a  short  time  after  leaving  Nashville,  Tennessee,  where 
he  had  taught  in  the  University  of  Nashville,  Mr.  Cunning- 
ham was  in  business  as  a  druggist  in  Richmond,  Virginia. 
In  1877  he  was  made  Principal  of  Madison  School  in  that 
city,  where  he  taught  with  great  success  until  he  came  to 
Farmville. 

The  ten  years  of  Dr.  Cunningham's  Presidency  of  the 
Normal  School  at  Farmville,  were  years  of  steady  and  sub- 
stantial growth.  In  his  first  year  ninety-three  students  were 
enrolled  in  the  Normal  School  department;  in  his  last  there 
were  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

He  died,  October  9,  1898,  at  Farmville,  Va.,  aged  52 
years. 


318  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

JUDGE  ASA  D.  DICKINSON.    Born,  1817.    Died,  1884. 

Asa  D.  Dickinson  was  born  in  Nottoway  County,  Va.,  in 
1817,  the  son  of  Robert  Dickinson  and  Mary  Pumal  Dupuy. 
His  father  was  a  prominent  farmer  and  citizen  of  Nottoway 
County,  while  his  mother  sprang  from  the  Huguenot  family 
of  that  name.  Two  brothers  of  his  mother,  Colonels  Asa  and 
Joseph  Dupuy,  were  for  many  years  representatives  of  Prince 
Edward  County  in  the  Virginia  Legislature.  Judge  Dickin- 
son's mother  was  a  niece  of  General  William  Purnal. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  received  his  collegiate  educa- 
tion at  Hampden- Sidney  College,  from  which  institution  he 
graduated  with  high  honors,  in  1836.  He  afterwards  studied 
law  at  William  and  Mary  College,  and  commenced  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession  in  1840. 

He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  a  Miss  Mi- 
chaux  of  Prince  Edward  county.  His  second  wife  was  a 
Miss  Irvine  of  Campbell  county.  His-  family  consisted  of 
five  sons;  two,  R.  M.,  and  Purnal,  by  the  first  marriage; 
and  four  daughters. 

In  1857,  Judge  Dickinson  was  elected  to  represent  the 
county  of  Prince  Edward  in  the  State  Legislature  and  again 
in  1859.  He  subsequently  served  two  terms  in  the  State 
Senate.  He  also  was  a  member  of  the  Confederate  Congress 
from  the  district  composed  in  part  of  the  county  of  Prince 
Edward.  He  was  disfranchised  by  reason  of  this  connection 
with  the  Confederacy,  but  his  disability  was  removed  by  the 
Congress  of  1870,  at  which  time  he  was  elected  Judge  of  the 
Third  Judicial  Circuit,  in  which  position  he  continued  for 
fourteen  years;  until  his  death,  which  occurred,  July  22,  1884, 
as  a  result  of  an  apoplectic  seizure  which  attacked  him  while 
bathing  in  the  Rapidan  River. 

During  the  strenuous  days  of  the  War  between  the  States, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  319 

Judge  Dickinson  won,  and  retained,  the  favor  and  the  con- 
fidence of  President  Jefferson  Davis. 

For  thirty-seven  years,  Judge  Dickinson  was  a  member 
and  a  ruling  Elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  was  also 
a  Trustee  of  Hampden- Sidney  College.  He  lived  most  of 
his  long  life  near  Worsham,  where  he  commenced  the  practice 
of  law. 

He  was  buried  in  the  College  Church  Cemetery  at  Hamp- 
den-Sidney,  the  burial  service  being  conducted  by  his  pastor, 
the  Rev.  Charles  White,  D.  D. 

Mr.  Blair  M.  Dickinson,  a  grandson  of  Judge  Dickin- 
son, is  the  honored  Principal  of  the  Farmville  Public  School. 
Another  grandgon  is  Mr.  A.  B.  Dickinson,  a  prominent  lawyer 
of  the  City  of  Richmond,  Va. 


320  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

WALTER  GRAY  DUNNINGTON 

Bom,  Farmville,  February  12,  1849 

Died,  Farmville,  August  2,  1922. 

Walter  Gray  Dunnington  was,  for  many  years,  one  of 
the  most  prominent  tobacco  merchants  of  the  entire  South. 

He  was  born  in  Farmville,  /February  12,  1859,  and  died 
in  the  county  in  which  he  was  bom,  August  2,  1922.  He  was 
the  son  of  James  W.  Dunnington  and  Sallie  Madison.  He 
was,  on  his  mother's  side,  the  grand-son  of  Col.  James  Madi- 
son. The  Dunningtons,  were  originally  Maryland  people.  On 
both  sides  of  the  house,  Mr.  Dunnington  came  of  English 
ancestry.  The  habitat  of  which  was  the  county  of  Berkshire, 
in  England. 

Soon  after  growing  up  Mr.  Dunnington  went  West,  and 
for  some  time  lived  in  the  vicinity  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.  Af- 
ter about  two  years  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Farmville 
and  went  into  the  tobacco  business,  in  which  business  his  father 
also  had  been  engaged. 

His  operations  in  tobacco  were  of  such  magnitude  that 
they  extended  into  Norway,  Sweden,  Germany,  France,  Eng- 
land and  Holland.  While  he  conducted  his  business  chiefly 
from  Farmville,  he  had  very  large  interests  in  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  spent  a  considerable  part  of  his  time  there.  He  also  con- 
ducted many  of  his  business  operations  in  New  York  City. 
In  his  own  line  of  business,  he  was  one  of  the  "big  men"  of 
the  State,  and,  for  that  matter,  of  the  nation  as  well.  He 
was  the  means  of  making  Farmville  one  of  the  leading  ex- 
port tobacco  markets  of  the  State. 

Mr.  Dunnington  never  held  political  position  of  any  kind, 
having  no  inclination  in  that  direction.  At  one  period,  how- 
ever, he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Town  Council  of  Farm- 
ville.    For  many  years  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  board 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  321 

of  trustees  of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  at  which  institution 
his  three  sons  were  educated.  He  w^as  a  man  of  simple  tastes, 
modest  and  unassuming,  yet,  at  the  same  time,  aggressive  and 
full  of  energy,  alert  in  speech  and  bearing,  and  possessed  of 
remarkable  business  acumen. 

Mr.  Dunnington  was  married,  October  12,  1876,  to  India 
W.  Knight,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  H.  Knight,  a  gallant 
soldier  of  the  Confederate  Army,  who  survives  him.  Their 
family  consisted  of  six  children,  five  or  whom  survive  him. 
They  are  Walter  Gray  Dunnington,  Jr.,  a  prominent  lawyer 
of  New  York  City;  Dr.  J.  H.  Dunnington,  an  eye  specialist  of 
New  York  City;  Mrs.  A.  G.  Clapham,  of  Washington,  D. 
C,  Mrs.  E.  Southall  Shields,  of  Farmville,  Va.;  and  J.  W. 
Dunnington  of  Farmville,  for  many  years  associated  with 
his  father  in  the  tobacco  business  in  that  place.  His  youngest 
child,  named  for  his  Norwegian  friend,  Conrad  Langaard, 
died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Dunnington  was  devoted  to  his  family.  He  was  a 
most  loyal  friend  and,  while  he  consistently  shrank  from 
publicity,  his  deeds  of  kindness  to  those  in  distress  were 
multitudinous.  His  death  brought  a  remarkable  career  to  a 
a  close.  His  remains  were  laid  to  rest  in  the  cemetery  at 
Farmville. 


322  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

DR.  ROBERT  FRAZER. 

Robert  Frazer  was  the  third  President  of  the  State  Fe- 
male Normal  School  at  Farmville.  He  became  President  in 
February,  1898.  He  was  intended  by  his  father  for  law. 
His  academic  course  at  the  University  of  Virginia  was  in- 
terrupted by  the  War  between  the  States.  Disabled  from 
wounds,  he  returned  to  the  University  in  the  fall  of  1863, 
and  took  up  the  study  of  law  with  Professor  Minor.  He 
was  never  satisfied  with  that  step,  preferring  the  profession 
of  teaching  to  that  of  the  law.  Later  he  took  up  teaching  and 
the  law  was  abandoned. 

In  1871  he  bought  the  Fauquier  Institute,  a  good  board- 
ing school  for  girls,  at  Warrenton.  Here  he  remained  until 
1882,  when,  under  the  urging  of  Dr.  J.  L.  M.  Curry,  he  ac- 
cepted the  Presidency  of  Judson  Institute,  at  Marion,  where 
he  remained  five  years,  and  had  a  phenomenal  success.  Over- 
work at  Marion,  broke  his  health,  so  that  he  had  to  devote 
three  years  thereafter  to  recuperation. 

In  1891  he  was  called  to  the  Industrial  Institute  and 
College  of  Mississippi,  at  Columbus,  to  serve  as  its  President. 
Here  he  remained  for  seven  sessions,  and  made  the  school 
the  pride  of  the  State. 

He  came  to  Farmville  with  a  mind  richly  stored  with 
knowledge,  a  broad  vision  of  life,  and  a  varied  and  extensive 
experience  in  schools  of  many  types.  His  four  years'  work 
in  Farmville  was  characterized  by  the  same  zeal  and  earnest- 
ness that  he  had  displayed  in  other  places.  He  was  extremely 
conscientious  in  his  convictions  of  duty. 

When  Dr.  Frazer  resigned  the  Presidency  of  the  State 
Normal  School  in  1902  in  order  to  enter  upon  the  duties  of 
Feld  Agent  of  the  Southern  Educational  Board,  he  left  be- 
hind him  many  grateful  memories  of  a  courteous,  cultured, 
sympathetic,  Christian  gentleman  of  earnest  purpose  and  un- 
bending principle,  staunchly  loyal  to  his  lofty  ideals  of  duty. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  323 

PATRICK  HENRY. 

After  his  final  incumbency  of  the  Governorship  of  the 
State  (1784),  the  celebrated  Patrick  Henry  made  his  resi- 
dence for  a  time  in  Prince  Edward  County,  dwelling  upon 
the  banks  of  the  Appomattox  from  the  latter  part  of  1786, 
until  1794. 

Entries  in  the  Registry  Office  at  Farmville  on  page  187, 
book  9,  under  date  of,  October  13,  1792,  show  that  he.  on  that 
day,  conveyed  to  Augustus  Watson  of  Nottoway,  and  holding 
of  936  acres,  on  the  Appomattox  River,  for  936  pounds  "cur- 
rent money  of  Virginia.*'  The  property  was  described  as 
follows :  "Beginning  at  Tarlton  Woodson's  line  on  the  Sandy 
Ford  road,  thence  along  his  line,  north  seven  and  one-half  de- 
grees west  two  hundred  and  twenty  poles  to  pointers.  Thence 
north,  eighty-one  degrees  east  twenty  poles  on  Venable's  line, 
to  a  branch.  Thence  down  the  said  branch  as  it  meanders  to 
Appomattox  river.  Thence  down  th^  said  river  one  hundred 
and  fourteen  poles,  to  a  corner  on  the  banks  of  the  said  river. 
Thence  south  five  degrees,  west  one  hundred  and  fifty  poles 
to  pointers.  Thence  south  twenty-four  degrees  east  eighteen 
poles,  to  a  poplar  fell  down.  Thence  south  sixty-four  and  a 
half  degrees  east  three  hundred  and  fifty  poles  to  pointers, 
hence  south  sixty-three  degrees  west  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  poles,  to  a  white  oak.  Thence  thirty-three  degrees  west, 
to  the  road.  Thence  up  the  said  road  as  it  meanders,  to  the 
beginning,  with  all  houses,  woods  and  under  woods,  ways, 
waterance,  water  courses,  etc." 

Signed,  Patrick  Henry, 

Dorothea  Henry,  (his  wife) 

And  witnessed  by:     Tarlton  Woodson, 
John  Miller, 
Woodson  Allen, 
John  Watson. 


324  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

A  second  deed  to  the  same  property,  by  the  same  persons, 
is  recorded  in  book  9,  on  page  327,  as  being  given  shortly 
after  the  first  one. 

In  connection  with  the  same  transaction,  a  commission  to 
privately  examine  Dorothea  Patrick,  who  was  then  at  Char- 
lotte Court  House,  was  appointed,  as  recorded  in  book  10,  on 
page  442,  in  the  same  registry  office. 

A  further  instrument,  constituting  "James  Fontain,  of 
Kentucky"  his  attorney,  to  close  a  certain  estate,  is  recorded 
in  the  same  registry  office,  in  book  8,  page  212,  in  1790. 

The  exact  location  of  the  house  in  which  Henry  lived 
in  Prince  Edward  county  has  been  a  matter  of  considerable 
dispute,  but,  after  exhaustive  research,  Mr.  Roy  Mathewson, 
realtor,  of  Farmville,  writes  as  follows:  "Mr.  Henry's  first 
purchase  of  land  in  Prince  Edward  was  twenty  acres,  con- 
veyed to  him  by  his  friend  Venable,  who  was  known  as 
Abraham  Venable,  T.,  and  T  distinguishing  him  from  several 
others  of  the  same  name.  ********  rpj^^  recorded  deed 
does  not  so  state,  but,  by  a  comparison  of  the  metes  and 
bounds  of  the  20  acres  first  conveyed,  with  other  descriptions, 
it  is  probable  that  the  house  in  which  Patrick  Henry  lived 
was  built  by  the  father  of  Abraham  Venable  T,  who  was 
also  Abraham  Venable,  but  known  as  Abraham  of  Prince 
Edward.  *******  Xhe  house  in  which  Mr.  Henry 
lived  was  burned  in  the  seventies.  There  are  a  few  people 
living  today  who  have  seen  it.  Their  descriptions  agree  that 
it  was  a  large  two  story  frame  dwelling  with  a  high  brick 
basement.  A  two  story  portico  running  along  half  of  the 
front,  was  supported  by  high  columns.  There  was  a  double 
row  of  large  locust  trees  from  the  house  to  the  road,  a  dis- 
tance of  several  hundred  feet,  and  the  usual  office  building 
at  the  road  end  of  the  row  of  locusts.  *********  its 
location  is  near  the  Farmville-Lynchburg  Highway,  about 
five  miles  west  of  Farmville  and  about  half  a  mile  north  of 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  325 

Appomattox   Church.       It   is   also   about  ,!four  miles   from 
Hampden- Sidney . 

The  farm  was  known  as  "Cliffside,"  but  that  name  seems 
to  have  gone  out  of  use  about  fifty  years  ago  and  does  not 
serve  to  identify  the  property  now." 

The  above  description  means  that  the  place  was  about 
one  mile  N.  W.  from  the  present  Tuggles  station  on  the 
Norfolk  and  Western  K.  K.  The  present  owner  is  L.  H. 
Williamson. 

Patrick  Henry  was,  soon  after  taking  up  his  residence  in 
the  county,  elected  as  one  of  its  delegates  in  the  Assembly, 
where  he  reassumed  his  old  position  as  leader.  He  con- 
tinued to  serve  in  every  session  of  the  Assembly  until  the 
end  of  1790,  at  which  time,  because  of  increasing  physical 
disability,  he  finally  withdrew  from  all  further  official  con- 
nection with  public  life.  He  however,  continued  to  practice 
law  within  the  county. 

Writing  concerning  him  in  connection  with  this  law  work. 
Dr.  Archibald  Alexander,  then  of  Hampden-Sidney  College, 
says : 

"In  executing  a  mission  from  the  Synod  of  Virginia,  in 
the  year  1794,  I  had  to  pass  through  the  County  of  Prince 
Edward,  where  Mr.  Henry  then  resided.  Understanding  that 
he  was  to  appear  before  the  Circuit  Court,  which  met  in 
that  county,  in  defense  of  three  men  charged  with  murder, 
I  determined  to  seize  the  opportunity  of  observing  for  myself 
the  eloquence  of  this  extraordinary  orator.  It  was  with  some 
difficulty  that  I  obtained  a  seat  in  front  of  the  bar,  where  I 
could  have  a  full  view  of  the  speaker,  as  well  as  hear  him 
distinctly.  But  I  had  to  submit  to  a  severe  penance  in  grati- 
fying my  curiosity ;  for  the  whole  day  was  occupied  with  the 
examination  of  witnesses,  in  which  Mr.  Henry  was  aided  by 
two  other  lawyers.     In  person,  Mr.  Henry  was  lean  rather 


326  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

than  fleshy.  He  was  rather  above  than  below  the  common 
height,  but  had  a  stoop  to  his  shoulders  which  prevented  him 
from  appearing  as  tall  as  he  really  was.  In  moments  of  ani- 
mation, he  had  the  habit  of  straightening  his  frame,  and 
adding  to  his  apparent  stature.  He  wore  a  brown  wig,  which 
exhibited  no  indication  of  any  great  care  in  the  dressing. 
Over  his  shoulders  he  wore  a  brown  camlet  cloak.  Under 
this  his  clothing  was  black,  something  the  worse  for  wear. 
The  expression  of  his  countenance  was  that  of  solemnity  and 
deep  earnestness.  His  mind  appeared  to  be  always  absorbed 
in  what,  for  the  time,  occupied  his  attention.  His  forehead 
was  high  and  spacious,  and  the  skin  of  his  face  more  than 
usually  wrinkled  for  a  man  of  fifty.  His  eyes  were  small 
and  deeply  set  in  his  head,  but  were  of  a  bright  blue  color, 
and  twinkled  much  in  their  sockets.  In  short,  Mr.  Henry's 
appearance  has  nothing  very  remarkable,  as  he  sat  at  rest. 
You  might  readily  have  taken  him  for  a  common  planter, 
who  cared  very  little  for  his  personal  appearance.  In  his 
manners,  he  was  uniformly  respectful  and  courteous.  Candles 
were  brought  into  the  Court  House,  when  the  examination  of 
the  witnesses  closed;  and  the  Judges  put  it  to  the  option  of 
the  bar  whether  they  would  go  on  with  the  argument  that 
night  or  adjourn  until  the  next  day.  Paul  Carrington,  Jun- 
ior, the  attorney  for  the  State,  a  man  of  large  size,  and  un- 
common dignity  of  person  and  manner,  and  also  an  accom- 
plished lawyer,  professed  his  willingness  to  proceed  imme- 
diately, while  the  testimony  was  fresh  in  the  minds  of  all. 
Now  for  the  first  time  I  heard  Mr.  Henry  make  anything  of 
a  speech;  and,  though  it  was  short,  it  satisfied  me  of  one 
thing,  which  I  had  particularly  desired  to  have  decided: 
namely,  whether  like  a  player  he  merely  assumed  the  ap- 
pearance of  feeling.  His  manner  of  addressing  the  Court 
was  profoundly  respectful.  He  would  be  willing  to  proceed 
with  the  trial,  "but,"  said  he,  "my  heart  is  so  oppressed  with 
the  weight  of  responsibility  which  rests  upon  me,  having  the 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  327 

lives  of  three  fellow-citizens  depending,  probably,  on  the 
exertions  which  I  may  be  able  to  make  in  their  behalf  (here 
he  turned  to  prisoners  behind  him),  that  I  do  not  feel  able 
to  proceed  tonight.  I  hope  the  Court  will  indulge  me,  and 
postpone  the  trial  till  the  morning."  The  impression  made 
by  these  few  words  was  such  as  I  assure  myself  no  one  can 
ever  conceive  by  seeing  then  in  print.  In  the  countenance, 
action,  and  intonation  of  the  speaker,  there  was  expressed 
such  an  intensity  of  feeling,  that  all  my  doubts  were  dispelled; 
never  again  did  I  question  whether  Henry  felt,  or  only 
acted,  a  feeling.  Indeed  I  experienced  an  instantaneous  sym- 
pathy with  him  in  the  emotions  which  he  expressed;  and 
I  have  no  doubt  that  the  same  sympathy  was  felt  by  every 
hearer.  As  a  matter  of  course,  the  proceedings  were  deferred 
till  the  next  morning.  I  was  early  at  my  post;  the  Judges 
were  soon  on  the  bench,  and  the  prisoners  at  the  bar.    Mr. 

Carrington opened  with  a  clear  and  dignified  speech,  and 

presented  the  evidence  to  the  jury.  Everything  seemed  per- 
fectly plain.  Two  brothers  and  a  brother-in-law  met  two 
other  persons  in  pursuit  of  a  slave,  supposed  to  be  harbored 
by  the  brothers.  After  some  altercation  and  mutual  abuse, 
one  of  the  brothers,  whose  name  was  John  Ford,  raised  a 
loaded  gun  which  he  was  carrying,  and  presenting  it  at  the 
breast  of  one  of  the  other  pair,  shot  him  dead,  in  open  day. 
There  was  no  doubt  about  the  fact.  Indeed,  it  was  not 
denied.  There  had  been  no  other  provocation  than  oppro- 
brious words.  It  is  presumed  that  the  opinion  of  every  juror 
was  made  up  from  merely  hearing  the  testimony,  as  Tom 
Harvey,  the  principal  witness,  who  was  acting  as  constable 
on  the  occasion,  appeared  to  be  a  respectable  man. 

"For  a  clearer  understanding  of  what  follows,  it  must  be 
observed  that  the  said  constable,  in  order  to  distinguish  him 
from  another  of  the  same  name,  was  commonly  called  Butter- 
wood  Harvey,  as  he  lived  on  Butterwood  Creek.  Mr.  Henry, 
it  is  believed,  understanding  that  the  people  were  on  their 


328  History  of  PHnce  Edward  County 

guard  against  his  faculty  of  moving  the  passions  and  through 
them  influencing  the  judgment,  did  not  resort  to  the  pathetic 
as  much  as  was  his  practice  in  criminal  cases.  His  main  ob- 
ject appeared  to  be,  throughout,  to  cast  discredit  on  the  testi- 
mony of  Tom  Harvey.  This  he  attempted  by  causing  the 
law  respecting  riots  to  be  read  by  one  of  his  assistants.  It 
appeared  in  evidence  that  Tom  Harvey  had  taken  upon  him 
to  act  as  constable,  without  being  in  commission;  and  that, 
with  a  posse  of  men,  he  had  entered  the  house  of  one  of  the 
Ford's  in  search  of  the  negro,  and  had  put  Mrs.  Ford,  in  her 
husband's  absence,  into  a  great  terror,  while  she  was  in  a 
very  delicate  condition,  near  the  time  of  her  confinement. 
As  he  descanted  on  the  evidence,  he  would  often  turn  to  Tom 
Harvey — a  large,  bold-looking  man — and  with  the  most  sar- 
castic look,  would  call  him  by  some  name  of  contempt;  "this 
Butterwood  Tom  Harvey,"  "this  would-be  constable,"  etc.  By 
such  expressions,  his  contempt  for  the  man  was  communicated 
to  the  hearers.  I  own  I  felt  it  gaining  on  me,  in  spite  of  my 
better  judgment;  so  that  before  he  was  done,  the  impression 
was  strong  on  my  mind  that  Butterwood  Harvey  was  unde- 
serving of  the  smallest  credit.  This  impression,  however,  I 
found  I  could  counteract  the  moment  I  had  time  for  reflec- 
tion. The  only  part  of  the  speech  in  which  he  manifested  his 
power  of  touching  the  feelings  strongly,  was  where  he  dwelt 
on  the  eruption  of  the  company  into  Ford's  house,  in  cir- 
cumstances so  perilous  to  the  solitary  wife.  This  appeal  to 
the  sensibility  of  husbands — and  he  knew  all  the  jury  stood 
in  this  relation — was  overwhelming.  If  the  verdict  could 
have  been  rendered  immediately  after  this  burst  of  the  pa- 
thetic, every  man,  at  least  every  husband,  in  the  house,  would 
have  been  for  rejecting  Harvey's  testimony,  if  not  for  hang- 
ing him  forthwith." — J.  W.  Alexander,  "Life  of  Archibald 
Alexander,"  183-187. 

In  the  year  1794,  being  then  fifty-eight  years  of  age, 
and  possessing  a  reasonable  competence,  Patrick  Henry  de- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  329 

cicled  to  withdraw  from  his  profession  and  resolved  to  spend 
his  remaining  days  in  retirement.  He  therefore,  removed 
from  Prince  Edward  county,  to  Long  Island  in  Campbell 
county,  and  there,  in  1795,  he  finally  established  himself  on 
an  estate  in  the  County  of  Charlotte,  called  Red  Hill,  where 
he  continued  to  reside  for  the  rest  of  his  life ;  which  gave  him 
his  burial  place;  and  which  remains  in  the  possession  of  his 
descendants.  This  considerable  description  of  his  residence 
within  the  county  of  Prince  Edward  is  given  because  the 
people  of  the  county  are  naturally  proud  of  the  fact  that  they 
were  honored  by  the  residence  amongst  them  of  so  great  and 
so  good  a  man.  He  was  born  at  Studley,  in  the  county  of 
Hanover  on  May  29,  1736,  and  died  at  Red  Hill  in  the  county 
of  Charlotte  on  June  6,  1799. 


330  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

GENERAL  JOSEPH  EGGLESTON  JOHNSTON. 

Joseph  Eggleston  «Tohnston  was  the  eighth  son  of  Peter 
Johnston  and  Mary  Wood,  who  was  the  daughter  of  Colonel 
Valentine  Wood,  of  Goochland  County,  whose  wife  was  Lucy 
Henry,  sister  to  Patrick  Henry.  He  was  born  at  Cherry 
Grove,  Prince  Edward  county,  February  3,  1807.  He  was 
named  after  Joseph  Eggleston,  a  military  associate  of  his 
father,  and  the  Captain  of  the  company  of  Lee's  Legion  of 
which  his  father,  Peter  Johnston,  was  Lieutenant. 

In  1811,  Peter  Johnston,  with  his  family,  removed  to  a 
place  which  he  named  "Panecillo,"  on  the  edge  of  Abingdon. 
This  removal  was  consequent  upon  Johnston's  appointment 
as  a  judge  of  the  General  Court  of  Virginia. 

His  education  was  begun  by  his  parents,  both  of  whom 
were  distinctly  competent  to  give  it.  This  was  the  custom 
in  those  days,  amongst  the  "gentry."  This  work  was  carried 
on  by  the  parents  until  the  lad  was  old  enough  to  enter  the 
Academy  at  Abingdon ;  a  fairly  good  classical  school.  Young 
Johnston  was  a  good  student,  and  made  the  most  of  the  op- 
portunities afforded  him,  both  at  home  and  at  school.  He 
ever  maintained  a  fondness  for  the  classics.  Homer  was  his 
favorite. 

In  1825,  when  he  was  eighteen,  he  secured,  through  the 
influence  of  James  Barbour,  L^nited  States  Senator  from  Y%v- 
ginia,  and  Secretary  of  War  under  President  John  Q.  Adams, 
the  appointment  to  the  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  as 
a  cadet.  He  thus  obtained  an  entrance  into  the  field  of  his 
cherished  ambition,  for  he  had  long  desired  to  be  a  soldier. 
He  was  descended  from  a  long  line  of  Scottish  Clansmen. 

In  the  above  year,  having  successfully  passed  the  neces- 
sary examinations,  Joseph  E.  Johnston  was  admitted  as  a 
cadet  at  West  Point.    He  was  one  of  the  one  hundred  and 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  331 

five  who  were  so  fortunate  as  to  enter  in  that  year.  Kobert 
E.  Lee,  slightly  older  than  himself,  and  the  son  of  the  com- 
mander of  Peter  Johnston,  young  Joseph's  father,  in  the 
War  of  the  Revolution,  was  one  of  his  fellow  students.  Their 
tastes  and  habits  being  of  the  same  character,  they  soon  be- 
came fast  friends,  which  friendship  continued  throughout 
their  lives.  Seven  other  young  Virginians  were  fellow  stu- 
dents of  the  two  friends,  all  of  whom  dropped  out,  leaving 
young  Johnston  and  Lee  to  pursue  their  studies  together  as 
the  sole  representatives  of  their  beloved  State.  They  gradu- 
ated together,  the  only  remaining  representatives  of  the  Old 
Dominion,  in  1829,  Lee  standing  second  to  Charles  Mason,  of 
New  York,  in  the  class  of  forty-six.  Johnston,  hindered  in 
his  studies  by  a  serious  affection  of  the  eyes  that  precluded 
his  studying  at  night,  stood  thirteen. 

Young  Johnston's  first  military  service  was  as  second 
Lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  Artillery;  the  next,  in  garrison  at 
New  York;  which  was  followed  by  similar  duty  at  Fortress 
Monroe.  This  period  extended  from  1829  to  1832,  when  his 
actual  active  campaigning  began  in  the  Black  Hawk  expedi- 
tion of  1832,  under  General  Scott. 

In  so  brief  a  sketch  as  this  must  of  necessity  be,  it  is 
manifestly  impossible  to  follow,  in  any  detail,  the  stirring 
military  career  of  this  favorite  son  of  old  Prince  Edward 
county,  and  no  effort  will  be  made  to  do  so. 

On  July  10,  1845,  when  he  was  38  years  of  age,  John- 
ston, having  attained  the  brevet  rank  of  Captain,  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Lydia  McLane,  a  young  woman  of  remarkable 
beauty,  and  great  personal  accomplishments.  The  family  to 
which  Mrs.  Johnston  belonged  is  one  greatly  distinguished 
in  the  annals  of  Delaware  and  Maryland.  The  union  was  a 
singularly  happy  one,  and  the  fact  of  the  absence  of  off- 
spring seemed  but  to  draw  them  the  closer  together. 

During  the  progress  of  his  military  career  it  was  the 


332  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

misfortune  of  General  Johnston,  that  a  serious  estrangement 
subsisted  between  himself  and  President  Jefferson  Davis,  of 
the  Confederate  States,  which  caused  him  to  be  often  super- 
seded, so  that  he  was  ever  preparing  campaigns  from  which 
others  reaped  much  of  the  glory  and  most  of  the  reward.  He 
possessed  a  singular  ability  to  subordinate  himself  for  the 
good  of  his  beloved  Southland,  and  a  patience  that  finally 
reaped  its  just  reward  in  the  esteem  of  his  contemporaries, 
so  that,  scarcely  second  to  the  immortal  Lee,  he  is  entrenched 
in  the  affectionate  regard  of  the  peoples  of  the  South,  and 
respected  by  the  erstwhile  enemies  of  his  people,  as  one  of 
the  great  Generals  of  all  time. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  hostilities,  that  marked  the  de- 
feat of  the  South  in  the  War  between  the  States,  General 
Johnston  took  service  with  a  railroad,  and  later  with  an  ex- 
press company.  Later  still  he  engaged  in  the  insurance  busi- 
ness in  Savannah,  where  he  remained  for  nearly  a  decade. 

In  1877  he  returned  to  his  native  State,  taking  up  his 
residence  in  Richmond.  In  1878  he  received  the  nomination 
of  the  Democratic  party  and  was  triumphantly  elected  to 
Congress  where  he  served  for  one  term  as  a  member  of  the 
House  of  Representatives.  He  seldom  spoke  in  the  House, 
but  was  an  honored  and  influential  member  throughout  his 
term,  at  the  close  of  which  he  was  appointed  as  Commissioner 
of  Railroads  under  President  Grover  Cleveland,  retaining 
his  residence  in  Washington. 

On  February  22,  1887,  his  beloved  wife  died  at  their 
residence  in  Washington.  This  was  a  crushing  blow,  so 
that  he  could  never  afterward  trust  himself  to  speak  her 
name,  and  his  house  remained  from  the  time  of  her  death 
exactly  as  she  had  left  it.  A  union  of  singular  happiness 
was  thus  brought  to  a  pathetic  close.  Mrs.  Johnston  had, 
for  a  long  time,  been  a  martyr  to  suffering,  during  which  her 
husband's  attentions  were  as  unremitting  as  those  of  a  youth- 
ful lover. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  333 

From  the  time  of  the  death  of  Mrs.  Johnston,  the  old 
General  gradually  became  weaker,  though  he  still  maintained 
his  upright  posture  and  steady  gait.  On  the  night  of  March 
21,  1891,  he  peacefully  passed  away  at  his  residence,  1023 
Connecticut  Avenue,  in  the  city  of  Washington.  The  imme- 
diate cause  of  his  death  was  heart  failure.  He  was  in  his 
eighty-fourth  year  when  he  died.  He  was  buried  in  the 
Greenmount  Cemetery,  Baltimore,  beside  the  wife  he  loved 
so  dearly. 

Nothing  marks  his  resting  place  save  the  simple  inscrip- 
tion, selected  by  himself: 

JOSEPH  E.  JOHNSTON, 

Son  of 

Judge  Peter  &  Mary  Johnston  of  Va., 

Born  at 

Longwood,  Prince  Edward  C,  Va., 

February  3,  1807. 

Died  March  21,  1891. 

Brigadier  General,  U.  S.  A. 

General,  C.  S.  A. 


334  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

DR.  JOHN  PETER  METTAUER.    Bom  1787,  Died  1875. 

The  father  of  John  Peter  Mattauer,  was  a  surgeon,  who, 
with  a  brother,  followed  the  fortunes  of  Lafayette.  After 
the  battle  of  Yorktown,  the  French  army  was  quartered  at 
various  points  in  Virginia.  With  one  regiment,  sent  to  Prince 
Edward  county,  were  the  two  brother  surgeons.  Francis 
Joseph  Mettauer,  one  of  these  brothers,  obtained  permission 
to  remain  in  Prince  Edward  county,  rather  than  return  to 
France.  Later  on  he  married  Eliza  Gaulding  and  to  them 
was  born  in  1787,  John  Peter  Mettauer. 

Comparatively  little  is  known  of  his  early  childhood  or 
of  his  youth,  save  that  he  was  raised  in  an  atmosphere  of 
surgery.  He  very  early  imbibed  a  love  for  surgery  and  re- 
solved to  make  that  work  his  profession. 

The  embryo  surgeon  was  sent  to  the  neighboring  college 
of  Hampden-Sidney  for  his  literary  training;  from  which 
institution  he  graduated  with  the  degree  of  A.B.  in  1806. 
He  then  w^ent  to  the  LTniversity  of  Pennsylvania  for  the 
study  of  medicine  and  graduated  with  the  degree  of  M.  D.  in 
1809.  Young  Mettauer  was  exceedingly  fortunate  in  select- 
ing this  University,  for  medical  work  was  then  being  con- 
ducted under  the  most  favorable  auspices  at  Pennsylvania. 
The  ablest  instructors  then  obtainable  were  on  the  staff  of 
that  institution.  He  also  was  so  fortunate  as  to  enjoy  a  very 
extended  practice  in  the  Philadelphia  Dispensary  during  his 
stay  in  that  city. 

Returning  to  Prince  Edward  county,  the  young  doctor 
at  once  entered  upon  the  practice  of  general  medicine.  Soon, 
however,  his  preference  for  surgery  and  his  marvelous  skill 
in  that  branch  of  his  work,  attracted  wide  attention  and  pa- 
tients from  great  distances  began  to  seek  him  out.  From 
all  parts  of  the  United  States  they  came,  some  even  from 
abroad.    Into  Prince  Edward  Court  House    (Worsham),  a 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  335 

representative  village  of  "ye  olde  time,"  came  pouring  an 
ever  increasing  stream  of  the  sick  and  the  ailing,  in  quest 
of  the  skillful  aid  of  the  young  surgeon.  These  were  suffi- 
cient, with  their  varied  retinue  of  personal  attendants,  to 
tax  to  the  utmost  the  modest  accommodations  afforded  by  the 
private  hospital  operated  by  Dr.  Mettauer,  and  by  the  two 
houses  of  entertainment  at  Kingsville  and  Worsham,  referred 
to  in  the  terms  of  that  day,  as  commodious'  "taverns." 

In  1837  Dr.  Mettauer  organized  his  Medical  Institute, 
which  later  on,  became  a  part  of  Randolph-Macon  College. 
Most  of  these  young  students  were  from  points  in  Virginia 
and  numbered  amongst  them,  many  who  in  later  life  attained 
eminence  in  the  practice  of  medicine.  This  Institute  was 
kept  up  until  1848,  when  it  became  the  Medical  Department 
of  Randolph-Macon  College,  located  in  Mechlenburg  county. 

Dr.  Mettauer  was  a  voluminous  writer,  though  many  of 
his  most  valuable  works  were  never  published.  He  was  a 
daring  inventor  of  surgical  instruments,  making  many  of 
them  at  old  Peter  Porter's  shop  in  Farmville  with  his  own 
hands. 

He  was  a  man  of  striking  appearance,  being  tall,  well- 
formed,  and  robust.  Unlike  most  of  the  young  physicians 
of  those  days  who  rode  horseback  in  making  their  rounds, 
young  Mettauer  used  a  carriage  for  that  purpose.  His  most 
striking  pecularity  was  his  insistence  on  wearing  a  prepos- 
terously tall  "stove  pipe"  hat,  upon  any  and  every  occasion. 
He  never  attended  services  in  the  churches,  doubtless  be- 
cause that  would  necessitate  the  removal  of  his  head-gear. 
He  even  objected  to  removing  his  hat  when  testifying  in  a 
case  in  court.  He  even  left  instructions  that  he  was  to  be 
buried  with  his  hat  on,  with  the  result  that  it  required  a  spe- 
cial coffin  of  a  trifle  over  eight  feet  long  to  contain  his  re- 
mains with  this  favorite  article  of  head-dress  and  the  con- 
siderable number  of  special  instruments  and  the  large  parcel 


336  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

of  letters  from  his  first  wife,  which,  by  his  special  direction, 
were  buried  with  him.  He  even  wore  this  hat  at  meals  it  is 
said ! 

Piercing  black  eyes,  were  over-shadowed  by  an  heavy 
over-hanging  brow,  above  which  rose  a  high  and  most  intel- 
lectually shaped  forehead. 

Eccentric  in  action  and  commanding  in  appearance  he 
was  a  marked  man  in  any  assemblage. 

His  passion  for  his  home  county  of  Prince  Edward 
amounted  to  almost  an  obsession.  He  tried  a  brief  settle- 
ment at  Norfolk  and  engaged  as  professor  of  surgery  at 
Baltimore,  in  Washington  University,  but  the  pull  of  "home" 
soon  had  him  back  in  Prince  Edward  county  where  he  stayed 
until  he  died. 

In  November  of  1875,  being  then  eighty-eight  years  of 
age.  Dr.  Mettauer  was  called  to  attend  a  case  of  morphine 
poisoning.  A  short  walk  through  wet  snow  made  his  feet 
wet.  As  a  result  he  developed  a  deep  cold,  which  soon  re- 
solved itself  into  pneumonia,  from  which,  in  two  days,  he 
died.  Alert  and  erect,  he  laid  down  his  work  while  still 
in  the  harness.  A  most  useful  life  was  thus  crowned  with 
an  heroic  death.  Close  to  the  scenes  of  his  useful  endeavors 
for  his  fellows  he  lies  buried,  a  strong,  unselfish  soul,  tak- 
ing a  well-earned  repose.  Prince  Edward  county  is  justly 
proud  of  her  surgeon  son. 


History  of  Prince  Edtoard  County  337 

JAMES  NELSON,  D.D.,  LL.D.       Bom,  August  23,  1841; 
Died,  November  13,  1921. 

Although  Doctor  Nelson  was  not  a  native  of  Prince  Ed- 
ward County,  so  much  of  his  labor  was  done  in,  and  for,  the 
county,  that  it  is  fitting  that  this  notice  shall  be  taken  of  him 
here. 

He  was  born  in  Louisa  county,  Virginia,  on  August  23, 
1841.  The  War  between  the  States  began  when  he  was  still 
at  school.  He  joined  the  Confederate  Army  and  was  for 
four  years  Chaplain  of  the  Forty- fourth  Virginia  Kegiment. 
What  was  known  as  "the  great  revival"  began  in  the  bri- 
gade to  which  young  Nelson  was  attached,  and  it  is  said  that 
hundreds  of  Confederate  soldiers  were  converted  through  his 
labors. 

With  the  close  of  the  war  he  entered  Columbian  Col- 
lege, Washington,  and  graduated  at  the  head  of  his  class. 
He  then  served  as  pastor  of  a  church  in  that  city,  and  later 
became  general  evangelist  for  the  Baptists  of  Maryland.  In 
1875  he  accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  Farmville  Baptist 
Church  and  began  at  once  to  establish  a  Normal  School  for 
women  there.  He  repeatedly  appeared  before  the  Legisla- 
ture and  the  Governor  and  finally  won  out  in  his  project  and 
the  Female  Normal  School  of  Farmville,  the  progenitor  of 
like  schools  at  Radford,  Fredericksburg,  and  Harrisonburg, 
came  into  being. 

In  1881  he  went  to  London,  England,  as  a  delegate  to 
the  World's  Sunday  School  Convention,  and  while  in  that 
city,  preached  in  the  church  of  the  famous  Charles  Haddon 
Spurgeon. 

In  1885  he  left  Farmville  to  accept  the  pastorate  of  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Staunton,  Virginia,  where  he  lectured  be- 
fore the  Staunton  Female  Seminary  and  other  schools  in 
addition  to  his  duties  as  pastor  of  the  Staunton  Church. 


338  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

After  leaving  Staunton,  he  was  for  nearly  thirty  years 
President  of  the  Woman's  College  of  Richmond.  The 
school,  when  he  took  charge  of  it,  was  near  extinction.  Its 
long  history,  its  old  prestige,  and  its  multitude  of  alumnae 
alike  seemed  unable  to  save  it.  Dr.  Nelson,  in  a  few  brief 
years,  re-established  it  on  a  sure  footing,  made  it  for  many 
sessions  a  most  useful  agency  and,  at  the  proper  time,  most 
generously  stood  aside  and  closed  the  college  that  AVest- 
hampton  College  might  be  opened. 

In  choosing  his  teachers.  Dr.  Nelson  was  guided  by  a 
sure  instinct  that  even  he  could  not  explain.  Dr.  J.  A.  C. 
Chandler,  now  President  of  the  College  of  William  and 
Mary,  was  picked  by  Dr.  Nelson  while  still  a  very  young 
man,  as  one  of  his  teachers.  Among  other  of  his  teachers, 
were  Hiss  Lenora  Duke,  later  Mrs.  Chandler;  Dr.  M.  A. 
Martin;  Dr.  W.  A.  Shepherd;  Dr.  F.  C.  Woodward;  Dr. 
Emory  Hill;  Christopher  Garnett;  Miss  Mary  Carter  An- 
derson, now  Mrs.  Charles  S.  Gardner;  Miss  Marian  Forbes; 
Miss  Addie  Garlick;  and  Miss  Catherine  Ryland,  now  Mrs. 
Garnett. 

Dr.  Nelson  was  the  despair  of  every  college  executive, 
for  it  was  said  of  him  that  he  could  do  more  work  with 
less  money  than  any  college  president  in  Virginia.  He  had 
a  marked  spiritual  influence  over  the  student  body  of  the  col- 
lege. 

Dr.  Nelson  died  on  Sunday,  November  13,  1921,  at  904 
Grace  Street  West,  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  was  buried  at 
Hollywood  Cemetery  in  that  city. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  339 

DR.  WILLIAM  HENRY  RUFFNER. 

He  was  the  son  of  Dr.  Henry  Ruffner,  a  distinguished 
Presbjrterian  preacher,  who  was,  for  many  years  President 
of  Washington  College,  now  Washington  and  Lee  Univer- 
sity. Thus,  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  reared  in  a  home 
of  culture.  From  the  college  of  which  his  father  was  Presi- 
dent he,  in  1845,  received  the  degree  of  M.A.  He  afterward 
studied  theology  at  Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey.  He  was  at  one  time  Chaplain  of  the 
University  of  Virginia,  and  later  became  pastor  of  Seventh 
Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia.  In  1853,  on  account  of 
broken  health,  he  withdrew  from  the  ministry. 

He  wrote  much  on  educational  and  agricultural  sub- 
jects, and  was  at  one  time  editor  of  the  Virginia  School 
Journal,  and  of  the  New  England  Journal  of  Education.  He 
was  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  in  Virginia, 
from  1870  to  1882.  This  office  had  just  been  created  and  he 
was  the  first  to  occupy  it.  His  difficulties  were  multiplied 
from  the  fact  that  he  had  to  provide  for  two  distinct  races 
of  people  at  a  time  when  feelings  were  apt  to  run  high; 
moreover  the  War  between  the  States,  that  presented  that 
problem,  had  left  his  constituency  almost  too  poor  to  be  taxed 
for  education.  -  In  founding  the  new  system  he  wrote,  trav- 
eled, lectured,  visited  schools,  held  meetings,  and  organized 
teachers'  institutes,  until  1882,  when  a  change  in  the  politics 
of  the  Administration  brought  about  his  retirement.  It  was 
from  this  retirement  and  with  his  vast  experience  behind 
him,  that  he  was  called  in  1884  to  undertake  a  new  pioneer 
work,  and  he  became  the  first  head  of  the  State  Female  Nor- 
mal School  of  Virginia,  located  at  Farmville.  He  was  also 
helpful  in  founding  the  Agricultural  and  Mechanical  Col- 
lege, and  Miller  School,  and  was  at  one  time  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Hampton  Institute  (Colored). 


340  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

What  Horace  Mann,  thirty-three  years  before  him,  had 
done  for  Massachusetts,  Dr.  Euffner  did  for  Virginia. 

He  lived  to  a  good  old  age  and  died  November  24,  1908, 
beloved  and  honored  by  all. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  341 

JUDGE    FRANCIS    NATHANIEL    WATKINS.      Bom 

April  14,  1813.    Died  1885. 

Judge  Watkins  was  born  in  1813,  and  spent  his  entire 
life  in  Prince  Edward  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  Legislature  in  1867-1868,  and  Judge  of  the  County 
Court  of  Prince  Edward  for  fourteen  years.  He  was  Secre- 
tary and  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Union  Theological  Semi- 
nary for  forty  years,  of  Hampden- Sidney  College  fourteen 
years,  and  of  the  State  Normal  School  for  the  first  year  of 
its  existence,  when  his  valuable  and  active  life  was  brought 
to  a  close  in  1885.  He  was  an  ardent  friend  of  education, 
especially  of  the  common  school  system. 


842  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


DOCTOR  PETER  WINSTON.  Born  in  Richmond,  Va., 
June  5,  1836.  Died  at  FarmviUe,  Virginia^  January  30, 
1920,  and  buried  at  Farmville^  Virginia, 

Doctor  Peter  Winston  was  born  at  Richmond,  Virginia, 
June  5,  1836.  He  was  graduated  from  Hampden- Sidney  Col- 
lege, Prince  Edward  county,  with  the  degree  of  A.B. ;  at- 
tended the  University  of  Virginia  for  one  year,  and  also  the 
University  of  New  York,  where  he  graduated  in  Medicine. 
Then  he  was  for  one  year  a  student  in  Paris  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  France,  from  whence  he  returned,  in  obedience  to  his 
country's  call,  in  1861,  to  become  a  surgeon  in  the  Confeder- 
ate Army,  whicli  position  he  held  through  the  period  of  the 
War  between  the  States.  Pie  afterwards  located  in  Farm- 
ville,  Virginia,  where  he  practiced  medicine  to  the  time  of 
his  death  in  1920.  He  was  mayor  of  Farmville  in  1873-1874, 
and  was  a  Delegate  to  the  State  Legislature  in  1914,  1916, 
1918  from  Prince  Edward  County. 

He  was  Moderator  of  the  Appomattox  Association  of 
Baptist  Churches  in  1873  and  1874,  and  again  in  1914  and 
1915.  He  was  a  prominent  and  deeply  interested  member 
of  the  Farmville  Baptist  Church  for  many  years. 

He  was  for  twenty-four  years  physician  to  the  State 
Female  Normal  School,  at  Farmville,  Virginia,  and  was  a 
trustee  of  Hampden- Sidney  College  for  a  great  many  years, 
as  well  as  of  the  State  Board  of  Correction. 

He  had  reached  the  ripe  age  of  eighty-four  when  he  died. 

On  September  15,  1868,  he  married  Miss  MoUie  Emma 
Rice  in  Farmville,  Va.,  and  she  survived  him  at  his  death. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  343 

KEV.  DANIEL  WITT,  D.D.  1801-1871. 

This  noted  divine  was  the  son  of  Jesse  Witt  and  Alice 
Brown,  then  living  in  Bedford  county,  near  to  what  is  now 
Bedford  City,  then  known  as  liberty.  He  was  born,  No- 
vember 8,  1801.  As  a  result  of  hardships  endured  during  the 
Revolutionary  War,  his  father  was  compelled  to  use  crutches 
and  found  it  §,  difficult  matter  to  care  for  his  large  family 
on  the  small  farm  that  he  had  managed  to  purchase.  He 
was  a  man  of  vigorous  and  rather  remarkable  intellect.  Both 
father  and  mother  were  ardent  Baptists.  Under  the  circum- 
stances of  the  family,  the  boy  Daniel,  received  but  limited  edu- 
cational advantages,  his  early  school  days  extending  but  little 
over  three  years.  Of  a  rather  delicate  physique,  the  outdoor 
life  made  necessary  by  demands  of  the  little  farm  and  the 
large  family,  was  a  most  fortunate  thing  for  him,  as  it 
gave  the  needed  strength  for  the  work  of  the  after  years. 

Until  the  fourth  Sunday  in  August,  1821,  nothing  par- 
ticularly striking  occurred  in  the  life  of  the  young  man.  On 
this  day,  however,  a  "section  meeting";  a  religious  gathering 
much  after  the  fashion  of  the  "protracted  meeting"  of  later 
days,  but  conducted  by  a  designated  section  of  the  Baptist 
Association  of  Churches,  held  at  Hatcher's  Meeting  House,  and 
at  which  Elders  Davis,  Leftwich,  Harris,  and  Dempsey  were 
the  preachers,  was  being  held.  The  meeting  lasted  all  day  and 
resulted,  on  October  21,  1821,  in  his  avowal  of  conversion. 
To  get  to  this  meeting  he  journeyed  farther  from  his  home 
than  he  had  ever  before  done;  some  twenty  miles. 

On  the  second  Sunday  in  December,  1821,  with  the  ice 
on  the  water,  the  subject  of  our  sketch,  and  his  older  brother 
Jesse,  were  baptized  and  received  into  the  fellowship  of  the 
Little  Otter  (now  Bedford  City)  Church.  Almost  imme- 
diately he  began  to  preach  and  met  with  much  acceptance, 
although  it  is  said  that  he  then  possessed  but  ONE  sermon. 
On  April  13,  1822,  his  Church  licensed  him  to  preach.     He 


344  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

was  soon  preaching  throughout  the  counties  of  Henry,  Pat- 
rick, Pittsylvania,  and  Campbell.  Upon  the  organization  of 
the  General  Association  of  Baptist  Churches  in  1823,  young 
Witt,  with  Jeremiah  B.  Jeter,  his  lifelong  friend,  were  desig- 
nated its  first  missionaries  and  set  apart  for  work  in  the 
western  part  of  the  State,  included  in  their  field  being  the 
counties  of  Franklin,  Henry,  Patrick,  Montgomery,  Gray- 
son, Giles,  Wythe,  Monroe,  Greenbrier,  Pocahontas,  Alle- 
ghany, Bath,  Rockbridge,  and  Botetourt. 

He  was  formally  ordained  to  the  ministry,  in  his  home 
Church,  Little  Otter,  on  August  7-8,  1824. 

In  February,  1827,  he  preached  at  an  Associational  meet- 
ing of  the  Appomattox  Association  of  Baptist  Churches,  held 
at  Sandy  River,  Prince  Edward  county,  in  Sharon  Bap- 
tist Church,  and  this  led  to  his  acceptance  of  a  call  to  that 
Church.  And  thus  began  a  ministry,  unique  in  many  ways, 
that  was  to  extend  over  a  term  of  forty-five  years,  to  he  termin- 
ated only  by  the  death  of  the  devoted  pastor.  He  pur- 
chased a  modest  home  near  to  his  Church  where  he  spent 
the  rest  of  his  years  and  in  which  he  died,  Novmber  15, 
1871. 

The  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  was  conferred  on  Mr.  Witt 
by  Columbian  College,  Washington,  D.  C.  He  was  the  Mod- 
erator of  the  Appomattox  Association  of  Baptist  Churches 
for  eleven  of  its  sessions,  and  was  President  of  the  General 
Association,  at  its  Petersburg  session  in  1861. 

He  was  thrice  married.  In  1829  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  C.  Cocke,  of  Cumberland  county,  who  died  in  1834. 
In  1836  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  A  Woodfin,  who  died 
in  1842.  In  1849  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  Ellen  Temple, 
who  survived  him. 

His  family  consisted  of  four  sons. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  346 

Upon  the  wish  of  his  Church,  Dr.  Witt  was  buried  near 
the  pulpit  where  for  so  many  years  he  had  proclaimed  the 
message  of  life  eternal.  Shortly  after  his  death,  a  handsome 
marble  shaft,  suitably  inscribed,  was  erected  by  Sharon 
Church  and  other  friends,  and  there  he  sleeps! 


JAMES    A.   DAVIDSON,    Mayor   of    FarmvUle,    Va. 

See    Page    35  2. 


1.  Robert  Kincaid  Brock. 

2.  Edward  Taylor  Boiidurant. 

3.  James  Augustus  Davidson. 

4.  Joseph  Dupuy  Eggleston. 

5.  Edgar  Graham  Gammon. 

6.  George  Jefferson  Hundley. 

7.  Joseph  L.  Jarman. 

8.  Asa  D.  Watkins. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  349 


"WHO'S  WHO"  IN  PRINCE  EDWARD 

Someone  has  said  that  "history  is  but  the  lengthened 
shadow  of  the  human  race.''  That  is  the  reason  for  this,  and 
the  preceding  chapter  on  "Biography." 

The  men  who  are  cited  in  this  chapter,  though  still 
living,  have  already  rendered  such  service  in  their  respective 
spheres,  for  the  good  of  their  fellow  citizens  of  Ptince  Ed- 
ward county,  as  to  mark  them  out  for  distinction. 

To  the  lasting  discredit  of  humanity  let  is  be  said  that 
we  are  all  too  prone  to  wait  until  after  the  obsequies,  be- 
fore doing  justice  to  those  who  have  served  us. 

Of  course  it  is  not  intended  to  intimate  that  these  alone 
have  served  their  fellows  faithfully  and  well,  but  they  stand 
in  a  representative  capacity  in  their  several  callings,  in  that 
service  which  every  robust  citizen  feels  to  be  incumbent  upon 
those  who  enjoy  the  privileges  of  our  democratic  institutions. 

And  that  is  the  reason  for  these  two  chapters.  These 
men  have  either  made,  or  are  making,  history. 


350  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

EGBERT  KINCAID  BROCK. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Buckingham  coun- 
ty, Virginia,  May  29,  1878.  His  father  was  Henry  C.  Brock, 
for  thirty-two  years  a  professor  at  Hampden- Sidney  Col- 
lege; and  his  mother,  Mary  Carter  Irving,  daughter  of  the 
late  Robert  Kincaid  Irving,  at  one  time  a  member  of  the 
Virginia  House  of  Delegates;  of  the  State  Senate,  and  Clerk 
of  the  County  of  Buckingham.  He  is  a  nephew  of  the  late 
Robert  A.  Brock  of  Richmond,  for  many  years  Secretary  of 
the  Virginia  Historical  Society,  and  of  the  Southern  His- 
torical Society. 

He  graduated  from  Hampden- Sidney  College  in  1897 
with  the  degree  of  A.B.  He  then  taught  for  one  year  in  Surry 
County,  and  for  one  year  in  Halifax  County.  For  four  years 
he  conducted  a  private  school  in  Charleston,  West  Virginia. 

He  received  his  legal  education  at  the  University  of  Vir- 
^nia.  Is  a  member  of  the  Chi  Phi  Fraternity.  Was  at 
one  time  the  president  of  the  Alumni  Association  of  Hamp- 
den-Sidney  College. 

He  began  the  practiqe  of  law  in  Farmville  in  1904  where 
he  soon  formed  a  partnership  with  Judge  A.  D.  Watkins, 
which  has  continued  to  the  present  time. 

He  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Virginia  in  1912,  where 
he  served  for  four  years  as  a  member  of  the  Committees  of 
Finance;  Schools  and  Colleges;  Courts  of  Justice;  and  Fish- 
eries and  Game,  of  that  body. 

He  was  a  delegate  to  the  State  Democratic  Convention 
in  1908,  1912,  1916,  and  1920,  and  was  the  alternate  delegate 
to  the  National  Democratic  Convention  in  St.  Louis  in  1916. 

He  was  Chairman  of  the  Prince  Edward  Chapter  of  the 
Red  Cross  from  the  time  that  the  Chapter  was  organized  dur- 
ing the  Great  War,  which  office  he  still  holds.       He  was 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  351 

Chairman  of  the  Legal  Advisory  Board  of  Prince  Edward 
County  during  the  War. 

He  is  Secretary  of  the  Prince  Edward  Public  Health 
Association;  and  of  the  Electoral  Board  of  the  County;  Ex- 
aminer of  Records  for  the  Fifth  Judicial  Circuit  since  1918; 
and  Secretary- Auditor  of  the  Virginia  Normal  School  Board 
since  October  1919, 

He  volunteered  for  service  in  the  Great  War  in  the  spring 
of  1918,  making  application  for  admission  to  the  Third  Offi- 
cers' Training  Camp,  but  was  rejected.  He  applied  again 
to  the  Fourth  Officers'  Training  Camp,  and  received  appoint- 
ment to  Camp  Lee;  was  inducted  into  the  service  before 
the  local  Draft  Board;  and  was  ordered  to  report,  Novem- 
ber 13th,  1918.  Through  the  signing  of  the  Armistice  on 
the  11th  of  that  month,  this  appointment  was  cancelled. 

Mr.  Brock  stands  high  in  the  estimation  of  his  fellow- 
citizens  of  Prince  Edward  county  for  his  splendid  public 
spirit  and  devotion  to  duty. 


352  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

EDWARD  TAYLOR  BONDURANT. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  in  Prince  Edward 
county,  near  Rice,  October  22,  1864,  and  has  lived  in  the  coun- 
ty all  his  life. 

In  1881  he  professed  religion  and  united  with  the  Christ- 
ian (Disciples  of  Christ)  Church  in  April  of  that  year. 

When  sixteen  years  of  age,  owing  to  the  death  of  both 
father  and  mother,  and  being  the  eldest  of  the  boys  of  the 
family,  he  was  forced  to  leave  school  and  assume  the  manage- 
ment of  the  home  farm,  which  he  did  so  successfully  that  all 
the  debts  against  it  were  paid  off,  and  in  1893,  by  decree  of 
the  Circuit  Court,  his  father's  farm  was  sold  to  him  by  the 
legatees. 

He  married  Agnes  Leigh  Clark,  October  20,  1886.  Side 
by  side  they  have  fought  the  battle  of  life,  with  the  hope  that 
their  children  might  have  a  good  education  and  prove  a  bless- 
ing to  the  world. 

Having  been  a  tobacco  grower  practically  all  his  life,  he 
very  early  became  very  much  interested  in  the  promotion  of 
an  organization  for  securing  better  prices  for  that  commodity 
for  the  growers  of  it.  In  1905  he  led  in  a  movement  to  that 
end.  Failing  at  that  time  to  secure  sufficient  strength  to 
accomplish  the  hoped-for  results,  that  organization  went  into 
the  loose  warehouse  business.  He  was  made  manager  and 
continued  to  serve  in  that  capacity  for  eight  years  with  a 
marked  degree  of  success.  During  all  these  eight  years  he 
continued  to  attend  to  the  managment  of  his  farm  as  well. 
In  1913  he  was  sent  by  the  U.  S.  Government  to  Austria, 
to  investigate  the  conditions  under  which  Virginia  tobacco 
was  being  bought  by  foreign  governments.  The  war  coming 
on  soon  afterwards,  his  mission  proved  abortive  of  results. 

In  1920  he  was  sent  to  the  Legislature  in  succession  to 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  353 

the  late  Dr.  Peter  Winston.    He  was  re-elected  in  1922  with- 
out opposition. 

Mr.  Bondurant  is  deservedly  popular  amongst  all  classes 
of  people  in  the  county,  but  it  is  amongst  the  farmers  that 
he  enjoys  his  greatest  popularity. 


354  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

JAMES  AUGUSTUS  DAVIDSON. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch,  is  the  son  of  William  Meade 
Dan^idson  and  Julia  Wiltse  Davidson,  and  was  born  at 
Farmville,  Virginia,  May  31st,  1877,  and  has  lived  in  Farm- 
ville  all  his  life. 

He  attended  the  public  schools  of  his  native  town,  finish- 
ing his  course  in  February  1892. 

On  the  28th  of  October,  1903,  he  was  married  to  Miss 
Birdie  Waddell  Cox,  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  and  has  a  fam- 
ily of  three  Children:  James  A.,  Jr.;  Paul  William;  and 
Frances  Wiltse. 

He  served  two  terms  as  a  memberof  the  Farmville  Town 
Council ;  from  September  1,  1916,  to  September  1,  1920,  when 
he  was  elected  Mayor  for  the  term  of  two  years;  from 
September  1,  1920,  to  September  1,  1922,  winning  by  a  sub- 
stantial majority  over  his  fellow-councilor,  Mr.  E.  W.  San- 
ford. 

He  is  the  junior  member  of  the  firm  of  Stokes  and  David-- 
son,  wholesale  and  retail  grocers  of  Farmville,  which  firm 
occupies  the  finest   grocery  premises  in  the  town,  situated 
on  Main  street;  a  new  and  handsome  structure,  erected  in 
1920. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Davidson  are  prominent  socially,  through- 
out the  county  and  are  deservedly  popular  amongst  the  host 
of  their  friends,  whom  they  frequently  entertain  in  their 
beautiful  home  on  Third  street. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  355 

DR.  JOSEPH  DUPUY  EGGLESTON,  Junior,  A.M.,  LL.D. 

Dr.  Eggleston  began  life  as  a  country  boy  near  Wor- 
sham,  in  Prince  Edward  county.  He  was  graduated  from 
Hampden- Sidney  College  in  1886,  was  prepared  for  college 
at  old  Prince  Edward  Academy  at  Worsham,  Va.,  under  Pro- 
fessor J.  R.  Thornton,  and,  at  eighteen,  was  at  work  in  a 
one-room  school  in  Missouri,  at  $15  a  month.  He  was  soon 
promoted  to  a  two-room  school  in  Prince  Edward,  his  native 
county,  and,  a  little  later,  to  a  three-room  school  in  Georgia. 

Teaching  was  then  given  up  temporarily  because  of  ill- 
health,  and  he  went  to  work  in  a  drug  store.  In  eighteen 
months  he  had  worked  up  from  a  twenty-five-dollar  a  week 
clerk,  to  the  head  of  the  business. 

He  then  returned  to  the  school-room,  and  for  two  years 
taught  in  a  High  School  in  Asheville,  N.  C,  twice  during 
that  time  declining  the  office  of  principal  of  it.  He  then 
succeeded  Mr.  Claxton  as  Superintendent  of  the  Asheville 
schools.  He  filled  this  position  most  successfully  for  seven 
years,  finding  time  also  to  become  one  of  the  organizers  of 
the  Asheville  and  Buncombe  County  Good  Roads  Associa- 
tion, and  was  an  active  member  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  Asheville  Business  Men's  Association.  At  the  end  of  nine 
years  work  in  Asheville  he  returned  to  Virginia  in  order 
to  be  near  his  father,  who  was  in  failing  health. 

He  was  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the  B.  F.  Johnson  Pub- 
lishing Company  only  a  short  while  before  he  was  asked  by 
President  Dabney,  of  the  University  of  Tennessee^  to  help 
in  organizing  the  Bureau  of  Publicity  and  Information  of 
the  Southern  Educational  Board. 

Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  T.  J.  Garden,  shortly  after, 
Mr.  Eggleston  was  appointed  to  fill  his  unexpired  term  as 
County  Superintendent  of  the  schools  of  Prince  Edward. 

Then    he    was   elected    State    Superintendent   of    Public 


356  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Instruction  in  Virginia,  which  office  he  filled  with  character- 
istic energy  and  conspicuous  success  for  seven  years. 

As  State  Superintendent  of  Education,  he  was  ex-officio, 
a  member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  of  the  State  Normal 
School  for  Women,  at  Farmville.  At  the  request  of  United 
States  Commissioner  of  Education,  P.  P.  Claxton,  he  resigned 
the  State  Superintendency  in  order  to  become  Chief  Special- 
ist in  Rural  Education  for  the  United  States,  but  in  six 
months,  was  unanimously  called  as  President  of  Virginia 
.Polytechnic  Institute,  where  he  remained  for  six  years. 
In  that  period,  1913-1919,  the  enrollment  of  V.  P.  I.  in- 
creased from  460  to  781. 

Asked  to  take  the  Presidency  of  his  Alma  Mater,  Hamp- 
den-Sidney  College,  he  declined  unless  it  should  become  the 
property  of  the  Synod  of  Virginia.  When  the  College  came 
under  the  control  of  the  Synod,  he  accepted  the  Presidency 
and  assumed  office,  July  1,  1919. 

Dr.  Eggleston  has  written  extensively  for  leading  pa- 
pers in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina;  is  a  member  of  Beta 
Theta  Pi,  and  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Clubs,  and  author,  with 
R.  W.  Bruere,  of  "The  Work  of  the  Rural  School." 

Farmville  and  Prince  Edward  county  are  greatly  hon- 
ored in  the  work  of  this  distinguished  son  of  theirs. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  357 

THE  KEVEKEND  EDGAR  GRAHAM  GAMMON,  D.D. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  is  the  present  Pastor  of  Col- 
lege Presbyterian  Church,  at  Hampden- Sidney,  Virginia. 

His  father  was  the  late  Rev.  James  Polk  Gammon.  His 
mother's  maiden  name  was  Susan  Southall  Langhorne. 

He  first  saw  the  light  of  day,  September  10,  1884,  at 
Asheville,  North  Carolina. 

When  about  two  years  of  age  his  parents  moved  to  Vir- 
ginia, where  he  was  reared.  He  entered  Hampden- Sidney 
College  in  1902,  and  graduated  in  1905,  with  his  A.B.  degree. 

Upon  his  graduation  he  taught  school  for  three  years, 
and,  in  1908,  entered  Union  Theological.  Seminary  in  Rich- 
mond, from  which  institution  he  graduated  in  1911  with  his 
B.D.  degree. 

His  first  ministerial  labors  were  at  Clarksburg,  West 
Virginia,  where  he  remained  for  only  one  year,  resigning  to 
take  up  mission  work  at  Harlington,  Texas,  on  the  Mexican 
border.  Here  he  did  aggressive  and  successful  Home  Mis- 
sion work  for  a  period  of  five  years. 

From  Harlington,  in  the  fall  of  1917,  he  came  to  his 
present  work  at  Hampden- Sidney. 

During  the  war  he  did  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work  at  Hampden- 
Sidney  College,  with  the  Student  Army  Training  Corps,  and 
was  deservedly  popular  with  the  young  men  with  whom  he 
worked. 

He  received  his  D.D.  degree  from  Hampden- Sidney  Col- 
lege, which  institution  takes  pride  in  the  splendid  work  he 
is  doing  with  the  student  body  of  the  college,  with  whom 
he  is  extremely  popular. 


358  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

JUDGE  GEORGE  JEFFERSON  HUNDLEY. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  bom  on  the  22nd  day  of 
March,  1838.  He  is  the  son  of  Josiah  Hundley  and  Cornelia 
Jefferson  Hundley,  both  of  whom  were  born  and  reared 
in  Amelia  county,  Virginia.  His  mother  died  when  he  was 
three  years  old,  and  his  father,  when  he  was  ten.  After 
his  mother's  death  George  was  taken  to  the  home  of  his 
grandmother,  Mrs.  Nancy  Jefferson,  the  widow  of  John  Gar- 
land Jefferson,  and  was  raised  by  her.  He  lived  in  the  coun- 
ty of  Amelia  till  he  grew  to  manhood.  He  received  his  edu- 
cation in  the  private  schools  of  that  day,  in  Amelia  county. 
He  was  put  out  to  business  when  quite  young,  but  before  he 
was  full  grown,  managed  by  his  own  efforts  and  with  the 
help  of  his  mother's  sister,  Mrs.  Nicholas  Carrington,  to  con- 
tinue his  education  at  Fleetwood  Academy  in  Nelson  county, 
Va.,  and  at  Hampden- Sidney  College,  and  his  legal  educa- 
tion at  Judge  Jno.  W.  Brockenbrough's  Law  School  in  Lex- 
ington, Ya.  He  had  to  borrow  money  to  enable  him  to  com- 
plete his  education,  but  paid  it  all  back  by  his  individual 
efforts  afterwards. 

He  obtained  his  license  to  practice  law  in  April  1861, 
being  examined  by  Judges  R.  C.  L.  Moncure,  Wm.  J.  Robert- 
son and  William  Danniel,  three  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals of  Virginia,  said  court  being  then  in  session  in  Rich- 
mond. Returning  then  to  the  home  of  his  cousin,  Wm.  C. 
Carrington  of  Howardsville,  Albemarle  County,  with  whom 
he  had  read  law  before  going  to  law  school,  young  Hundley 
volunteered  in  the  Howardsville  Blues,  a  company  then  be- 
ing organized  to  enter  the  War  between  the  States,  on  the 
side  of  the  south;  was  elected  a  Lieutenant  in  the  company 
and  joined  our  army  at  Manassas  Junction.  This  com- 
pany formed  a  part  of  the  19th  Virginia  Regiment  and  took 
part  in  the  first  battle  of  Manassas. 

In  1862,  in  company  with  his  cousin.  Lieutenant  Car- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  359 

rington,  he  "joined  the  cavalry"  being  attached  to  the  5th 
Virginia  cavaflry,  and  served  until  the  end  of  the  wa.r. 
He  was  severely  wounded  in  1863  and  performed  his  last 
service  at  Appomattox  Court  House  in  1865. 

After  the  surrender,  the  courts  being  closed,  young 
Hundley  organized  a  private  school  at  Howards ville,  Va., 
and  taught  school  until  February  1866,  when  he  settled  at 
Buckingham  Court  House,  Va.,  to  practice  law.  When  he 
went  there,  after  purchasing  some  civilian  clothes,  he  had 
exactly  $15  left  in  cash,  but  soon  got  a  good  practice,  and 
with  the  proceeds,  paid  off  his  debts  then  remaining  un- 
paid. He  took  an  active  part  in  the  struggles  of  the  best 
people  against  the  oppressions  and  outrages  of  the  enemies 
of  the  South,  in  the  days  of  the  Re- Construction  Period. 

Young  Hundley  was  nominated  for  the  Virginia  Senate 
from  Buckingham  district,  twice.  The  first  time  he  was  de- 
feated by  a  small  majority,  in  a  district  with  an  overwhelm- 
ing negro  majority.  The  second  time  he  was  nominated  by 
the  Conservatives,  or  Democrats,  of  that  day,  during  his 
absence  from  the  district,  without  solicitation  on  his  part, 
and  was  elected  by  a  good  majority,  and  served  in  the  Senate 
for  four  years. 

At  the  close  of  his  term  in  the  Senate,  he  declined  re- 
election and  moved  to  Richmond  to  practice  his  profession. 
He  had  enough  of  political  office  holding,  but,  whilst  still  in 
the  Senate,  and  also  subsequent  to  his  retirement  from  poli- 
tics, he  championed  the  cause  of  white  supremacy,  and  can- 
vassed the  State  in  every  election  for  the  cause  of  democ- 
racy and  white  rule.  While  he  was  still  in  the  Senate,  a 
bill  was  passed  re-organizing  the  Militia  of  the  State  and 
he  was  appointed  a  Brigadier-General  of  Militia,  by  Gov- 
ernor Walker.  , 

While  in  Richmond  he  purchased  an  estate  near  Amelia 


360  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Court  House  and,  having  married,  he  moved  to  his  home 
county  of  Amelia  and  practiced  law  there  and  in  adjoining 
counties,  and  sometimes  argued  cases  in  other  States.  In 
1895  an  attempt  was  made  to  repeal  the  Walton  Law,  which 
was,  at  that  time,  the  only  protection  the  people  of  south- 
side  Virginia  had  against  negro  domination,  by  a  proper 
restriction  of  suffrage,  and  General  Hundley,  as  he  was  then 
known,  was  appealed  to  by  the  Democrats  of  Nottoway  and 
Amelia,  to  stand  for  election  to  the  Legislature.  This  he 
refused  to  do  at  first,  but  being  assured  that  he  would  be 
elected  without  opposition,  he  consented  and  was  returned. 
Some  leading  Democrats  from  the  white  sections  otf  the 
State,  who  had  been  leaders  in  the  Legislature  for  many  ses- 
sions, championed  the  repeal  of  the  Walton  Law.  Mr. 
Hundley  led  the  defenders  of  that  law  and,  after  the  hardest 
fight  of  his  life,  succeeded  in  defeating  the  repeal  of  the  law, 
thereby  saving  white  supremacy  in  south-side  Virginia,  until 
the  new  Constitution  established  it  permanently  by  Consti- 
tutional restrictions  of  Suffrage. 

In  1898  Governor  Tyler  appointed  Mr.  Hundley  Judge 
of  the  3rd  Judicial  District  of  Virginia,  composed  at  that 
time  of  nine  counties :  viz :  Amelia,  Powhatan,  Cumberland, 
Buckingham,  Appomattox,  Prince  Edward,  Charlotte,  Lunen- 
burg, and  Mechlenburg.  Under  the  new  Constitution,  Judge 
Hundley  having  removed  to  Farmville,  the  circuit  was  di- 
vided, and  he  became  Judge  of  the  present  5th  Judicial  Dis- 
trict, composed  of  five  counties.  He  has  been  on  the  Bench 
for  twenty-four  years,  during  which  time  he  has  tried  many 
important  and  celebrated  cases. 

Judge  Hundley  is  descended,  on  his  father's  side,  from 
Josiah  Hundley,  who  emigrated  from  England  in  1759  and 
settled  in  Williamsburg,  Va.,  and  through  his  mother,  Cor- 
nelia Jefferson,  from  the  Jeffersons  of  the  Revolution.  His 
grandfather  was  George  Jefferson,  who  was  the  first  cousin, 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  361 

intimate  friend,  and  boyhood  playmate,  of  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, President  of  the  United  States.  Through  his  mother, 
he  is  descended  also,  from  Elizabeth  Giles,  the  only  sister  of 
Governor  Wm.  B.  Giles,  of  Virginia.  His  grandfather,  John 
Garland  Jefferson,  of  Amelia,  was  a  protege  of  President 
Jefferson,  who  took  him  to  Monticello,  to  read  law  under 
his  supervision,  and  in  President  Thomas  Jefferson's  works. 
Vol.  4,  page  388,  there  is  published  a  letter  to  George  Jeffer- 
son. In  Vol  5,  of  the  same  work,  there  is  published  a  letter 
to  John  Garland  Jefferson,  son  of  George  Jefferson.  Both 
of  these  letters  are  couched  in  the  most  affectionate  terms. 

Judge  Hundley's  ancestors  have  fought  for  their  coun- 
try in  every  war.  Colonial  or  National,  that  this  country 
has  been  engaged  in.  He,  himself,  served  throughout  the 
War  between  the  States,  during  which  he  was  severely  wound- 
ed. His  father  Josiah  Hundley  the  3rd,  served  under  Gen- 
eral Taylor,  in  the  Mexican  war. 

Judge  Hundley's  son,  Kobert  Garland  Hundley,  was 
trained  at  Fort  Meyer,  and  commissioned  as  Lieutenant  of 
Infantry  when  barely  old  enough  to  receive  a  commission, 
and  sers^ed  through  the  Great  World  War  in  France,  during 
which  he  was  severely  wounded.  He  is  now  practicing  law 
in  Richmond. 


362  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

JOSEPH  L.  JARMAN,  A.B.,  LL.D.,  President  State  Fe- 
male Normal  School^  Farmville^  Va. 

Dr.  Jarman,  fourth  President  of  the  State  Female  Norm- 
al School,  Farmville,  Virginia,  was  bom  in  Charlottesville, 
Virginia,  on  the  19th  of  November,  1867.  His  father,  Wil- 
liam Dabney  Jarman,  served  in  the  Confederate  Army,  in 
the  War  between  the  States.  His  mother  was  Catherine 
Goodloe  Lindsay,  of  the  well  known  I-^indsay  family  of 
Albemarle  county. 

His  early  education  was  obtained  in  the  public  schools 
of  Charlottesville.  At  the  early  age  of  fourteen  (having 
been  left  an  orphan)  he  was  sent  to  the  Miller  Manual  Labor 
School,  where  he  remained  from  1881  to  1886.  In  competi- 
tive examination  he  won  the  Miller  Scholarship  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Virginia,  where  he  was  a  student  from  1886  to 
1889,  devoting  himself  especially  to  the  natural  and  physical 
sciences. 

Upon  the  completion  of  his  course  at  the  University  of 
Virginia,  he  returned  to  Miller  School  as  a  member  of  the 
faculty,  but  remained  there  for  only  one  year,  as,  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  he  was  called  to  the  chair  of  natural  science 
at  Emory  and  Henry  College.  He  remained  at  Emory  and 
Henry  for  twelve  years,  leaving  ther'e  in  January  1902, 
to  take  up  his  present  position  at  Farmville. 

During  his  stay  at  Emory  and  Henry  College  the  degree 
of  A.B.,  was  conferred  upon  him  by  that  institution,  and, 
since  he  has  been  in  Farmville,  Hampden-Sidney  College 
has  honored  itself  by  conferring  upon  him  the  degree  of 
LL.D. 

Dr.  Jarman  is  a  member  of  the  American  Chemical  So- 
ciety ;  the  American  Society  for  the  Advancement  of  Science ; 
and  the  Virginia  Historical  Society.     He  was  a  member  of 


JUDGE   GEORGE   JEFFERSON   HUNDLEY 
Fifth    Judicial    District 

See    Page    35  6. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  363 

the  State  Board  of  Education  for  eight  years,  viz:  from 
1906  to  1914;  and  was  Chairman  for  the  Red  Cross;  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.;  and  the  United  War- Work  campaigns  during 
the  World's  War,  securing  from  Farmville  and  Prince  Ed- 
ward County  the  splendid  total  of  approximately  $25,000, 
for  these  interests. 

Notwithstanding  his  multitudinous  duties.  Dr.  Jarman  is 
very  active  in  the  work  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  Farmville,  of  which  he  is  a  loyal  and  consistent  member, 
beinor  Chairman  of  the  Official  Board  of  that  Church. 


364  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

JUDGE  ASA  DICKINSON  WATKINS, 

Judge  Watkins  was  born  in  1856  and  has  lived  in  Prince 
Edward  county  all  his  life.  He  is  one  of  the  most  influ- 
ential and  best  esteemed  citizens  of  Farmville,  in  that  coun- 
ty, having  been  officially  intimately  acquainted  with  the  pub- 
lic affairs  of  the  county  since  he  was  twenty-one  years  of 
age. 

He  was  Judge  of  the  County  Court  from  1886  to  1891, 
and  Attorney  for  the  Commonwealth  from  1891  to  the  pres- 
ent time. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates, 
1897-98y  and  of  the  State  Senate  from  1899  to  1904. 

He  succeeded  his  father,  the  late  Judge  F.  N.  Watkins, 
in  1885,  as  Secretary-Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  State  Female  Normal  School,  at  Farmville. 

He  has  also  served  as  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
of  Hampden-Sidney  College  for  the  past  twenty-nine  years. 
He  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Visitors  of  the  Negro  Nor- 
mal and  Industrial  Institute  of  Petersburg,  Virginia,  and  is 
a  member  of  the  State  Inter-Racial  Commission  at  the  pres- 
ent time. 

He  is  an  ardent  friend  and  an  active  exponent  of  educa- 
tion for  the  masses. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Farm- 
ville where  he  served,  first  as  Deacon,  and  later,  as  Elder, 
which  latter  office  he  still  holds. 

In  1886  he  married  Miss  Nannie  E.  Forbes,  daughter  of 
Col.  W.  W.  Forbes,  of  Buckingham  county.  His  family  con- 
sists of  four  sons  and  four  daughters. 


t3i\e  Jinlimarg  of  Entire  lEitmarb  (Haaatg 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  367 

THE  JUDICIARY  OF  PRINCE  EDWARD 

No  inconsiderable  part  of  such  an  historical  sketch  of 
the  count\'  as  we  are  endeavoring  to  give,  must  rest  in  tra- 
dition. Tradition,  properly  substantiated,  forms  a  legiti- 
mate source  of  history  generally,  because  actual  documentary 
evidence  is  not  available  in  respect  to  many  vital  items  of  the 
history  of  the  changeful  conditions  that  have  been  the  lot 
of  the  Southern  States. 

This  is  true  in  a  very  large  measure  respecting  the  Judici- 
ary of  Prince  Edward  county. 

Much  of  the  subjoined  matter  Avas  furnished  by  Judge 
George  J.  Hundley,  from  a  peculiarly  retentive  memory,  but 
in  the  material  facts  it  has  been  verified  by  such  document- 
ary evidence  as  is  available. 

Subsequent  to  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  prior  to  the 
War  between  the  States,  the  Juduciary  of  the  County,  in 
the  main,  followed  the  subjoined  plan: 

The  Court  of  Appeals,  the  highest  State  Court,  was  com- 
posed of  five  Judges,  who  were  elected  by  the  people  under 
a  restricted  franchise.  This  system  resulted  in  the  election 
of  men  of  high  repute,  so  that  this  court  was  held  in  great 
respect.    It  had  general  jurisdiction. 

The  District  Court  of  Appeals,  which  was  composed  of 
three  Circuit  Court  Judges,  elected  by  the  people  under  re- 
stricted franchise,  which  had  appellate  jurisdiction  over  both 
civil  and  criminal  cases. 

The  County  Courts,  composed  of  five  Magistrates,  were 
appointed  by  the  Governor,  and  had  general  jurisdiction  in 
civil  cases,  but  in  criminal  cases  acted  as  an  examining  board 
only.  One  of  their  number,  selected  by  themselves,  was  ap- 
pointed to  act  as  presiding  magistrate.  Under  this  system, 
one  of  their  number,  under  the  rule  of  seniority,  was  en- 


368  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

titled  to  the  office  of  Sheriff.  These  courts  stood  very  high 
in  popular  esteem,  being  usually  composed  of  educated  men, 
some  of  whom  had  even  studied  law,  as  was  rather  customary 
amongst  the  "gentlemen"  of  that  day  and  period. 

We  have  thus  seen,  that  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  the 
Judges  were  elected  under  a  qualified  white  franchise,  w^hich 
resulted  in  the  election  of  men  of  substance  and  standing, 
whose  decisions  stood  high  in  the  esteem  of  the  superior 
courts.  At  this  time,  in  order  to  be  entitled  to  vote,  the 
citizen  was  required  to  be  a  landowner,  who  could  vote 
wherever  he  owned  land. 

Amongst  the  Judges  thus  selected  were  such  men  as 
Judge  K.  L.  E.  Mohcure;  Judge  William  DanieJ;  Judge 
William  J.  Kobertson;  of  the  Court  of  Appeals;  and  Judge 
William  Leigh;  Judge  Lucius  P.  Thompson;  Judge  Hunter 
Marshall;  Judge  —  Nash;  Judge  —  Meredith;  and  Judge 
William  Crump,  of  the  Circuit  Court. 

During  the  war  the  Judges  thus  elected  continued  to  dis- 
charge their  duties.  The  above  named  Judges  were  in  office 
during  this  period. 

After  the  war  these  officers  were  removed,  and  others; 
in  many  cases  disreputable  men,  were  appointed  by  the  mili- 
tary authorities  who  took  supervision  of  the  courts  of  justice. 
Virginia  was  made  into  Military  District  Number  One,  for 
this,  and  other  purposes. 

One  of  these  military  appointees,  was  one,  Philip  A. 
Bowling,  a  native  of  Buckingham,  who  presided  over  nine 
counties  which  included  Amelia,  Buckingham,  and  Prince  Ed- 
ward counties.  He  belonged  to  one  of  the  most  prominent 
families  of  Virginia.  During  a  debate  between  him  and 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  noted  for  the  "edge"  of  his 
tongue  when  aroused,  the  latter  referred  to  Bowling  as  "the 
degenerate  son  of  a  worthy  sire."    As  a  young  man  he  gave 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  369 

every  promise  of  a  brilliant  and  useful  career,  possessing  a 
fine  mind  and  an  imposing  presence.  He  was  elected  to  the 
Legislature  while  still  in  his  early  twenties,  and  supported  a 
proposition  to  abolish  slavery  in  Virginia,  which  was  lost 
by  a  very  narrow  margin,  said  to  be  one  vote.  His  vote  is 
said  to  have  been  influenced  by  the  fact  that  one,  Arthur 
Tappen  of  Matesachusetts,  an  ardent  abolitionist,  came  to  Rich- 
mond in  order  to  advocate  abolition,  bringing  with  him  his 
young  daughter,  a  most  attractive  young  woman,  between 
whom  and  young  Bowling  an  affection  sprung  up  that  re- 
sulted in  their  becoming  engaged  to  be  married.  About  this 
time  a  great  agitation  was  made  by  the  advocates  of  slavery, 
so  that  his  vote  in  favor  of  abolition  made  him  very  unpopu- 
lar in  certain  influential  quarters.  He  made  desperate  efforts 
to  regain  his  popularity,  but  was  ever  afterwards  unable 
to  regain  his  former  position,  and  gradually  became  a  politi- 
cal pariah. 

His  family  bitterly  opposed  his  marriage  to  Miss  Tappen 
and  finally  induced  him  to  marry  a  Miss  Eppes,  a  most  ex- 
cellent young  lady  of  North  Carolina.  Miss  Tappen  also 
married  shortly  afterwards. 

Disappointed  both  matrimonially  and  politically,  Bow- 
ling gradually  sank  until  he  became  a  drunkard  and  a  gam- 
bler. His  wife  dying,  he  moved  to  Farmville,  where  he 
rented  a  small  office,  in  which  he  slept  and  lived.  While 
here,  his  very  bedding  was  sold  from  under  him  for  debt. 

In  the  meantime  the  husband  of  the  former  Miss  Tappen 
died,  and  hearing  of  it.  Bowling  wrote  to  her  something  after 
this  fashion:  "I  am  bankrupt  in  morals  and  in  pursej;  I 
gamble  and  I  drink  whiskey;  and  if  you  will  marry  me 
I  will  come  and  see  you  at  once;"  to  which  she  replied:  "I 
will  be  glad  to  see  you."  He  went  to  Boston  and  saw  her 
and  they  became  engaged.  Though  her  father  was  so  bit- 
terly opposed  to  the  marriage  that  he  threatened  to  shoot 


370  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

Bowling,  they  were  married  and  returned  to   Virginia  to 
live. 

It  was  this  man  whom  General  Canby,  in  charge  of  Mili- 
tary District  No.  1,  appointed  as  Judge  over  the  district 
which  included  Prince  Edward  county.  In  order  to  qualify, 
Bowling  took  the  "Iron  Clad  Oath"  declaring  therein  that 
he  had  never  sympathized  with,  or  aided  the  South  in  the 
War  between  the  States ! 

His  Wife,  for  whom  he  entertained  a  genuine  affection, 
had  a  very  salutary  influence  over  him,  so  that  he  became 
somewhat  less  dissipated,  but  still  remained  far  from  a 
model  of  sobriety.  Mrs.  Bowling  accompanied  her  husband 
on  his  circuit  of  the  counties  in  his  district  and  was  much 
chagrined  at  his  dissolute  conduct,  for  she  was  a  most  ex- 
cellent woman.  They  lived  on  a  farm  near  to  Amelia  Court 
House.  Bowling  continued  to  serve  until  the  civil  govern- 
ment was  rehabilitated.  After  he  was  set  aside  upon  that 
occurrence,  he  went  back  to  his  old  life  of  dissipation. 

The  military  supervision  ended,  the  Underwood  Con- 
vention; better  known  as  the  "Black  and  Tan  Convention;" 
a  convention  make  up  of  negroes,  carpetbaggers,  and  scalawags 
(these  "scalawags"  were  southerners  who  had  turned  rene- 
gades for  money,  or  plunder  reasons)  assumed  control  and 
the  "Keconstruction"  days  proper,  began.  This  Convention, 
thus  composed,  proceeded  to  change  the  entire  judicial  sys- 
tem. It  introduced  the  northern  system,  entailing  a  vast 
increase  in  the  number  of  officers  and  in  the  amount  of  ex- 
pense for  judicial  purposes.  They  proceeded  to  disfranchise 
all  the  leading  southerners  who  had  participated  in  the  war 
on  behalf  of  the  South,  either  in  the  Government  or  in  the 
Army,  so  that  they  could  neither  vote  nor  hold  office.  Every 
man  now  elected  to  office,  including  the  judiciary  in  all  its 
branches,  had  to  take  what  was  known  as  the  "Iron  Clad 
Oath,"  thereby  swearing  that  he  had  neither  participated  in. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  371 

nor  sympathized  with,  what  was  called  "The  Rebellion."  The 
same  oath  was  required  of  the  voters.  After  this  arrange- 
ment had  been  agreed  to,  a  general  election  was  ordered. 
Under  the  limited  franchise  thus  achieved,  vast  numbers  of 
the  white  men  of  the  South  were  shut  out  from  the  polls, 
and  every  male  negro  of  twenty-one  years  of  age  was  per- 
mitted to  vote.  As  one  result  of  this  plan  many  negroes  were 
elected  as  Magistrates,  Constables,  etc.,  and  some  were  sent 
to  both  Houses  of  Congress,  and  to  both  Houses  of  the  State 
Legislature.  They  were  also  elected  as  County  Clerks,  Treas- 
urers, Commonwealth's  Attorneys,  etc.  Amongst  those  sent 
to  represent  Prince  Edward  county  in  the  State  Legislature 
and  Senate  appear  the  names  of  James  D.  Bland  (negro) 
John  Robinson  (negro)  N.  M.  Griggs  (negro).  The  Conven- 
tion generally  was  made  up  of  negroes,  carpetbaggers,  and 
scalawags.  The  representatives  of  the  South  to  both  Houses 
of  Congress  were  generalh'^  of  the  same  type 

When  the  native  white  southerners  again  secured  con- 
trol in  the  Convention  of  1901,  the  work  of  the  Underwood 
Convention  was  set  aside  almost  in  its  entirety,  save  that  the 
system  of  County  Judges  in  a  modified  form  was  retained, 
and  the  Magistrates  Courts  finally  ceased  to  exist  as  form- 
erly. Duiftng  4:he  interim  of  the  Underwood  Convention 
Judge  F.  N.  Watkins,  Judge  J.  M.  Crute,  and  Judge  Asa  D. 
Watkins,  served  as  Judges  in  Prince  Edward  county.  The 
Convention  of  1901  did  away  with  the  purely  county  courts, 
as  the  Underwood  Convention  had  done  away  with  the  purely 
magisterial  courts.  ITnder  the  Underwood  Constitution  the 
Circuit  of  the  Fourth  Judicial  District,  which  included  Prince 
Edward  county,  consisted  of  nine  counties,  in  which  court 
was  held  but  twice  in  the  year.  Under  the  Constitution  of 
1901  the  number  of  the  counties  were  reduced  to  five,  in  each 
one  of  which  court  was  held  much  more  frequently. 

The   Circuit  Judges,  sitting  in  Prince  Edward  county 


372  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

under  this  Circuit  arrangement,  have  been  Judge  Asa  D. 
Dickinson,  Judge  Francis  D.  Irving,  Judge  Samuel  F.  Cole- 
man, and  Judge  George  Jefferson  Hundley,  the  present  in- 
cumbent. 

As  previously  stated,  an  orderly  and  exhaustive  review 
of  the  judicial  system  as  affecting  Prince  Edward  county,  is 
practically  impossible  within  the  scope  of  this  work,  but 
the  foregoing  will  perhaps  serve  to  give  a  general  survey 
of  the  system. 

The  following  are  the  present  officers  of  the  Court: 

Horace  Adams,  Clerk. 

Gordon  E.  West,  Deputy  Clerk. 

John  A.  Clark,  Sheriff. 

Judge  Asa  D.  Watkins,  Commonwealth's  Attorney. 


(Hljapter  Sixteen 

Agrtrwlturf  in  l^t'mtt  ©»marli  dauntg 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  375 

AGRICULTUEE  IN  PRINCE  EDWARD 

The  soil  of  the  county  is  much  like  that  generally  pre- 
vailing in  this  part  of  the  State.  It  is  generally  good,  though 
in  places  somewhat  "run  down"  through  over-cultivation  with- 
out adequate  fertilization.  It  is  varied,  sandy,  red  and  choco- 
late loams,  or  gray  loam.  It  is  generally  rather  highly  pro- 
ductive and  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  the  various 
farm  crops  of  this  part  of  State.  Tobacco,  wheat,  and  corn, 
are  the  chief  farm  products  of  the  county. 

All  forage  crops,  especially  the  legumes,  are  easily 
grown;  and  the  grasses, — clover,  timothy,  red  top, — fehow 
good  profits. 

This  is  not  a  natural  grazing  section,  except  for  sheep, 
in  which  case,  however,  it  ranks  well,  but  its  adaptability  to 
forage  crops  and  grasses,  has  given  it  some  prominence  as 
a  dairying  section.     Cattle  and  hogs  are  profitably  raised. 

All  fruits  and  vegetables,  common  to  the  State,  do  well. 
Potatoes  frequently  yield  phenomenally  well. 

Marl,  coal,  and  copper  ore,  are  found  in  the  county, 
with  some  evidence  of  the  presence  of  other  minerals. 

The  forest  products  are  poplar,  pine,  and  oak  for  the 
main  part.  In  recent  years  there  has  been  some  considerable 
cutting  of  this  timber.  At  the  present  time  two  flourishing 
lumber  concerns  are  in  operation  in  Farmville,  besides  sev- 
eral temporary  concerns  in  other  parts  of  the  county. 

The  major  part  of  the  county  is  in  a  state  of  good  cul- 
tivation.   The  surface  of  the  land  is  rolling. 

The  land  is  watered  by  the  Appomattox  River  and  its 
man}'  branches. 

Agricultural  statistics  for  the  county  will  be  found  under 
the  head  of  "Statistics"  in  chapter  seventeen. 


Pntta  Ebmari  (Eouttlg  ^tntxBtuB 


1.  Population. 

2.  Marriage  and  Divorce. 

3.  Vital  Statistics. 

4.  Agriculture. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  379 

PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  STATISTICS 

POPULATION 

Total,  1920 14,767. 

Male  „ 7,410. 

Female  • 7,357. 

White „ 6,584. 

Negro -8,183. 

Negro  majority 2,401. 

Increase  in  white  population  over  census  of  1910,  772. 
Decrease  in  negro  population  from  census  of  1910,  275. 

Per  cent  of  negro  population  55.4. 

Population  per  square  mile,  41.5. 

Number  of  dwellings  in  county,  2,910. 
Number  of  families  in  county,  3,055. 


380  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


MARKIAGE  AND  DIVORCE,  1920. 
MARRIAGES. 

White  couples,  47.  Black  couples,  95. 

Total,  142. 


DIVORCE  DECREES  GRANTED,  1920. 

Total  for  the  county,  20. 

Adultery,  3;  Desertion,  15;  Cruelty,  1;  Imprisonment,  1. 
White  Male  Plaintiff:    Adultery,  1;  Desertion,  1. 
White  Female  Plaintiff:    Adultery,  1;  Desertion,  1. 
Black  Male  Plaintiff:    Adultery,  1;  Desertion,  7. 
Black  Female  Plaintiff:    Desertion,  6. 


It  will  be  noted  that  the  color  of  those  alleging  "Cruelty" 
and  "Imprisonment"  is  not  given. 


History  of  Prince  Edioard  County  381 

YITAL  STATISTICS,  1920. 

Total  births  381 

Illegitimate 35 


Legitimate   _. ' 346 

DEATHS 

Infants  under  one  year 24 

Typhoid 2 

Whooping  cough 3 

Diphtheria  1 

Influenza „ 11 

Tuberculosis  of  lungs  .31 

Meningitis 1 

Bronchitis  1 

Pneumonia  17 

Congenital  debility „ 8 

Other  causes  of  early  infancy 1 

Cancer  4 

Puerperal  _ _ 2 

Accidents   4 

Burns „ 1 

All  other  causes 83 

Total   194 

Excess  of  births  over  deaths 152 


382 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County 


PRINCE  EDWARD  COUNTY  VIRGINIA 

DEPARTMENT  OF  COMMERCE 

BUREAU  OF  THE  CENSUS 

PRELIMINARY  ANNOUNCEMENT  *AGRICULTURE 
FOURTEENTH  CENSUS:    1920. 

Released  July  14,  1921. 

The  director  announces,  subject  to  correction,  the  follow- 
ing preliminary  figures  from  the  Census  of  Agriculture,  for 
Prince  Edward  county,  Va. 


Farms  and        Jan  1, 
Farm  Acreage.  1920 


FARMS  1,843 

Operated    by 
White  farmers     859 
Col'd  farmers      984 
Operated  by 
Owners  and 

managers  1,263 

Tenants  580 

Land  in  farms, 
Total,  acres  177,522 
Improved, 

acres  71.373 


Apr    15 
1910 


1.682 


+9.6 


758+13.3 
924;  +6.5 


1,216    +3.9 
466+24.5 


180,661 


-1.7 


Amount 
66,177;  +7.9  Per  cent 


FARM  VALUES 


Value  of  land  and 
buildngs. 

January  1,  1920 

April   15,  1910  

Increase,  1920  over 
1910 


$6,650,780 
3.036.432 


3,614,348 
119.0 


DOMESTIC 
ANIMALS 

Farms   reporting 
domestic   animals 
Animals  reported: 

Horses 

Mules    

Cattle 

Sheep   

Swine  


Jan.  1 

Apr.   15 

1920 

1910* 

1,746 

1,589 

2,234 

2,003 

983 

493 

4.067 

4,394 

383 

1,034 

6,821 

6,008 

PRINCIPAL 

Acres 

CROPS 

Harvested 

Corn  .-1919 

15,022 

1909 

13,509 

Wheat  1919 

5,879 

1909 

4,744 

Hay  _1919 

4,152 

1909 

4,090 

Tobacco 

1919 

7,056 

1909 

6,444   1, 

Quantity 
Harvested 

230,909,    bu. 
218,660,    bu. 

65,049,    bu. 

49,457,    bu. 

4,769,    tons 

4,845,    tons 

3,531,579  lbs. 
5,107.637,  lbs. 


*The  figures  for  domestic  animals  in  1910  are  not  very 
closely  comparable   with  those  for   1920,  since  the  present 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  383 

census  was  taken  in  January,  before  the  breeding  season 
had  begun,  while  the  1910  census  was  taken  in  April,  or 
about  the  middle  of  the  breeding  season,  and  included  many 
spring  calves,  colts,  etc. 


1.  Social  and  Economic  Conditions. 

2.  A  Pathetic  Letter. 

3.  An  Old  Court  Order. 

4.  Wonder  Booker  and  the  Negro  of  his  day. 

5.  Crown   Deed   from   George   the   Second,   Signed   by 
Governor  Gooch. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  387 

MISCELLANEOUS 

SOCIAL  AND  ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Colony,  almost  as  a  matter  oi 
necessity,  rather  than  of  choice,  the  simple  life  was  the 
general  rule,  for  both  the  rich  and  the  poor  alike.  What 
was  true  of  the  Colony  generally  was  true  of  Prince  Edward 
particularly. 

In  the  modern  acceptation  of  the  term  there  was  but 
very  little  comfort  or  luxury. 

For  the  most  part  the  houses  were  quite  rude  and  gen- 
eially  small.  Glazed  windows  were  still  somewhat  of  a  curi- 
osity. All  the  lumber  was  sawn  by  hand  and  the  nails  were 
wrought  by  the  blacksmith.  Practically  all  articles  of  do- 
mestic use  were  made  at  home. 

On  nearly  every  plantation  there  were  negro  smiths, 
carpenters,  masons,  shoemakers,  etc.,  and  generally  speak- 
ing, all  implements  of  agriculture,  few  and  very  primitive, 
were  homemade.     The  same  was  true  of  all  house  furnishings. 

Koads  were  but  little  better  than  bridle-paths  so  that 
horseback  was  the  usual  mode  of  travel.  A  "bridal  tour" 
usually  meant  that  the  bride  went  to  the  home  of  the  groom, 
riding  behind  him  on  the  same  horse.  Books  were  few,  but 
that  mattered  little  to  most  of  the  folk  because  they  were 
for  the  most  part,  very  busy  during  the  daytime  and  there 
was  little  light  for  night-reading. 

The  well-to-do  got  their  clothes,  and  their  wines,  and 
some  of  their  furnishings  from  England,  but  the  poorer  peo- 
ple wore  home-spun.  The  "ladies"  had  their  imported  linens 
and  silks,  which,  because  they  were  most  excellently  made 
and  because  there  were  but  few  occasions  for  them  being 
worn,  were  handed  down  to  their  daughters  who  were  not 
ashamed  to  wear  them.     The  planters   wore  broadcloth   on 


388  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

public  occasions,  with  short  breeches,  knee  buckles,  and  silk 
stockings.  Pewter,  even  amongst  the  well-to-do,  was  much 
commoner  than  china,  or  than  silver. 

The  negro  women  were  taught  to  card,  spin,  and  weave, 
and  to  cut  and  make  the  clothes  of  the  children  and  ser- 
vants. The  negro  men  were  taught  to  make  the  rude  utensils 
of  the  farm  or  of  the  household,  and  to  raise  the  farm  crops. 

Far  more  attention  was  paid  to  the  morals  of  the  peo- 
ple then  than  is  given  today.  The  Church  wardens  kept 
a  sharp  eye  for  sinners,  bound  out  orphans,  and  the  children 
of  parents  who  did  not  take  proper  care  of  them,  kept  down 
immorality  as  well  as  they  could,  and  appear  to  have  taken 
their  responsibilities  in  these  respects  rather  seriously.  Men 
were  taken  before  the  Grand  Jury  for  Sabbath-breaking;  were 
prosecuted  at  law  for  not  attending  Church;  were  publicly 
whipped  for  cheating  at  cards  and  were  severely  punished 
for  swearing. 

Educational  facilities  in  those  days  were  few  and  very 
simple,  but  so  far  as  it  went,  education  was  of  a  practical  and 
very  thorough  character.  Ordinarily  the  "three  K's"  would 
constitute  the  curriculum,  but  Latin  was  taught  to  all  who 
wished,  or  were  required  by  their  parents,  to  learn  it.  Many 
of  the  rich  had  private  tutors  and  both  in  these  private 
schools,  and  in  the  more  public  institutions  of  learning,  the 
birch  and  the  ferrule  were  more  or  less  generously  adminis- 
tered. For  the  most  part  the  boys  received  a  better  educa- 
tion than  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  girls.  The  girls  were  usually 
taught  music  and  the  old  fashioned  "spinnet,"  a  sort  of 
primitive  piano,  was  the  instrument  played. 

The  chief  agricultural  products  of  these  early  days  in 
Prince  Edward  county,  were  cereals,  hay,  and  tobacco,  which 
were  carried,  either  by  ox-cart  to  Richmond,  or  by  batteau 
down  the  Appomattox  to  Petersburg. 

The  earlier  records  are  somewhat  prolix  in  the  number 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  389 

of  the  crimes  and  their  punishments  that  they  contain. 
Many  of  these  punishments  would  today  be  called  excessive 
and  barbarous,  but  they  were  identical  with  those  inflicted 
in  England  itself.  A  crime  of  a  servant  against  his  master; 
or  of  a  wife  against  her  husband,  when  of  a  grave  nature, 
was  c^led  "petty  treason''  with  correspondingly  severe  pun- 
ishment; most  often  death.  Hog  stealing  appears  to  have 
been  so  persistent  that  special  penalties  were  provided  for  it. 
That  punishment  came  at  last  to  take  the  form  of  death. 
Then,  as  now,  hogs  seemed  to  have  a  special  fascination  for 
the  negro  and  many  of  them  suffered  the  extreme  penalty. 

The  crime  against  women,  though  of  much  rarer  occur- 
rence than  today,  was  by  no  means  unknown  as  has  been 
asserted. 

One  of  the  most  unique  laws,  at  least  to  us  of  these  lax 
days,  was  that  prescribed  for  habitual  absence  from  Church; 
50  pounds  of  tobacco  or  its  equivalent  in  cash,  defaulting 
which,  the  penalty  was  to  be  "Ten  lashes  on  the  bare  back." 
That  was  the  law  for  about  forty  years,  1680-1720! 

Though  the  severity  of  the  punishment  was  somewhat 
abated,  it  was  still  a  misdemeanor  for  many  years  later,  as 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  Grand  Jury  at  the  May 
Court,  1755,  amongst  others,  made  a  presentment  against 
one  "John  Conneson  for  not  going  to  any  Place  of  Worship 
in  one  Month."  All  of  which  is  suggestive  of  the  close  watch 
set  by  the  officials  over  the  morals  of  the  community  life 
of  Prince  Edward  county  in  those  "good  old  days."  One 
can  scarce  refrain  from  wondering  what  would  be  the  meas- 
ure of  official  duty  if  the  same  care  were  to  be  undertaken 
today! 


390  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

A  PATHETIC  LETTER 

The  following  most  interesting  letter  is  on  file  at  the 
Court  House  in  Farmville.  It  is  exceedingly  illuminating  as 
showing  the  conditions  under  which  our  progenitors  lived 
in  those  now  far  distant  days.  Taken  in  connection  with 
the  court  proceedings  which  are  appended,  it  is  very  sugges- 
tive of  the  severity  of  our  fathers. 

The  manuscript  is  as  follows: 

THE  FOLLOWING  LETTER 
WAS  WRITTEN  BY  FREDERICK  BRIGGS  TO  HIS 
WIFE,  WHILE  UNDER  SENTENCE  OF  DEATH,  FOR 
HORSE  STEALING;  AND  WHO  WAS  EXECUTED,  TO- 
GETHER WLTH  HIS  COMRADE,  M'ELHENEY,  ON 
THE  ICth  OCTOBER,  1780,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF 
PRINCE  EDWARD.  IT  PRESENTS  AN  ARTFUL 
WARNING  TO  THOSE  WHO  LIVE  DISHONESTLY, 
AND  WHO  WICEKDLY  TRANSGRESS  THE  KNOWN 
LAWS  OF  GOD. 

"My  Dear  Wife— 

The  hand  of  Justice  has  arrested  me  in  Virginia,  at 
a  great  distance  from  you  and  my  other  dear  friends,  whom 
I  never  more  expect  to  see;  I  do,  therefore,  write  this  to 
acquaint  you  with  my  lamentable  fate,  and  to  convey  a 
wretched  father's  last  request  and  charge  to  the  children 
whom  my  bleeding  heart  cherishes  with  a  fondness  that 
only  death  can  destroy. — On  the  3rd  of  August,  I  was  taken 
up,  together  with  my  companion,  M'Elheney,  in  Nottowa} 
County,  charged  with  carrying  off  the  horses  of  a  Mr.  Spen- 
cer, in  Charlotte,  about  fifty  miles  from  the  place  of  our 
capture.  From  the  jail  of  Nottoway,  we  were  sent,  on  the 
13th  of  the  same  month,  for  trial,  to  Charlotte  county ;  where 
we  were  detained  in  prison  till  the  30th,  and  then,  by  the 
examining  court,  were  sent  down  to  Prince  Edward,  to  be 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  391 

tried  before  the  District  Court;  on  the  1st  of  September,  our 
trial  came  on,  and  the  jury  having  brought  us  in  GUILTY, 
on  the  9th,  we  received  the  awful  sentence  of  DEATH! 

AVhat  a  melancholy  scene  does  the  history  of  a  few  days 
present  to  your  view!  Surely  I  must  have  been  infatuated 
to  have  brought  myself  into  a  situation  where  every  day's 
anguish  of  mind  would  more  than  balance  the  follies  and 
fancied  pleasures  of  all  my  past  days  of  dissipation;  and, 
yet  these  distressful  days  are  the  prelude  to  the  tremendous 
day  of  my  execution,  and  the  most  tremendous  day  of  stand- 
ing at  the  bar  of  the  eternal  God,  in  judgment. 

Oh!  my  dear,  what  shall  I  do?  My  soul  shudders  at 
the  Catastrophe  to  which  I  am  reduced,  and  which  I  am  un- 
able now  to  prevent.  O!  that  I  had  contented  myself  at 
home  in  industrious  labor,  with  you  and  my  dear,  DEAR 
children — then  I  might  have  em  joyed  peace,  with  the  most 
homely  fare;  whereas,  now,  I  am  torn  violently  from  you  all, 
forever !  and  have  brought  distressing  ignominy  and  reproach 
upon  myself  and  family.  But  this  regret  is  useless  now — I 
have  no  prospect  of  any  redief ,  but  from  the  God  of  mercy 
and  compassion.  To  Him,  I  have  been  attempting  to  turn 
my  distressed  thoughts,  and  to  seek  His  mercy  and  grace, 
ever  since  my  confinement  in  Charlotte.  But  the  thought 
of  you  and  my  poor  deiar  children,  so  overwhelms  and  over- 
burdens my  distressed  mind,  that  I  scarce  can  command  one 
calm  reflection. 

My  dear  creature;  as  I  never  more  expect  to  see  you  in 
this  world,  I  beseech  and  charge  you  to  take  care  of  our  poor 
children  as  well  as  you  can — let  me  entreat  you,  by  the  love 
and  affection  that  always  subsisted  between  us,  not  to  suf- 
fer any  person  to  use  them  ill,  if  you  can  help  it.  I  hope 
that  the  dying  words  of  a  husband  that  loves  you,  will  pre- 
vail with  you  to  keep  the  children  out  of  the  way  of  bad  com- 
pany, lest  the  untimely  wretched  fate  of  their  poor  father 


392  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

should  be  their's.  Let  me  also  beseech  you,  to  take  more  care 
of  their  precious  immortal  souls,  than  we  both  have  done; 
and  that  you  may  the  better  succeed  in  this,  be  engaged  for 
your  own  salvation — for  death  may  be  as  near  you  as  it  is 
me;  it  may  seize  you,  at  home  and  in  selcurity,  as  well  as  it 
has  unexpectedly  approached  me — and  I  am  sure,  if  you  saw 
the  grim  messenger,  as  plain  as  I  now  view  him,  ready  to 
grasp  you  in  his  dreadful  arms,  you  would  feel  your  need 
of  a  change  of  heart,  and  an  interest  in  Jesus  Christ,  who, 
only,  can  save  the  lost.  O !  fly,  fly  from  the  wrath  to  come, 
and  warn  our  beloved  children,  also,  to  escape  the  terrors  of 
the  law.  Bring  them  up  in  the  fear  of  God,  and  keep  them 
from  the  vile  practices  of  a  sinful  world;  so  may  you  look 
for  a  blessing  from  that  merciful  God,  who  is  the  widow's 
guardian  and  the  orphan's  friend.  Oh;  if  I  were  a  faith- 
ful servant  of  that  God,  how  easily  I  might  leave  you  under 
His  protection  and  fatherly  care;  for  He  hath  promised,  in 
Jeremiah,  49  ch.  11  v.,  ''Leave  thy  fatherless  children,  I  will 
preserve  them  alive,  and  let  thy  widow  trust  in  me."  Now, 
my  dear,  let  my  entreaties  prevail  with  you  to  seek  the  Lord 
for  yourself  and  for  your  children;  and  when  I  am  dead  and 
forgotten,  as  I  soon  shall  be,  let  me  be  considered  as  yet 
speaking  in  this  mournful  letter.  Call  my  dear  fatherless 
children  around  you,  to  hear  what  their  miserable  father  has 
to  say  to  them: 

Come,  my  fatherless,  unfortunate  little  ones:  come,  listen 
to  your  dying  parent's  last  request  and  charge.  I  have  been 
too  negligent  of  your  precious  perishing  souls,  while  I  was 
with  you — I  now  confess  it,  before  God  and  you,  and  would 
try  to  make  one  feeble  attempt,  before  I  die,  to  say  some- 
thing to  you  for  your  good.  I  beseech,  I  conjure,  I  command 
you  all,  to  seek  the  Lord  in  the  days  of  your  youth ;  quit  the 
follies  of  the  idle  and  thoughtless,  and  try  to  give  your- 
selves up  to  God  in  time,  lest  His  wrath  burn  fiercely  against 
you  forever.     Don't  give  way  to   frolicking  and  company- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  393 

keeping;  these  ruin  and  destroy  many  a  soul.  Be  resolved 
to  seek  God's  mercy,  let  others  do  what  they  will ;  pray  much, 
avoid  the  wicked,  and  all  of  you  carefully  associate  with 
people  of  good  characters.  Be  industrious,  for  idleness  leads 
into  bad  company,  extravagance  and  wickedness  of  every 
kind;  it  often  leads  into  dishonesty  and  RUIN.  My  dear 
daughter,  by  beloved  Nancy  Goodrich,  I  think  I  see  you 
weeping  by  your  mama's  side,  while  she  reads;  let  me  ad- 
dress you  particularly;  you  are  grown  up  to  be  a  woman; 
remember  that  virtue  and  religion  will  be  your  greatest  orna- 
ments. If  you  behave  well  and  shun  bad  company,  you 
may  be  happy  and  esteemed,  though  your  unfortunate  father 
is  not.  Assist  your  dear  distressed  mother;  obey  her,  and  try 
to  comfort  her  in  her  afflictions — may  the  almighty  God  bless 
you,  my  dear  child,  and  make  us  meet  in  a  better  world.  How 
can  I  support  under  the  grief  that  wrings  my  heart  while 
I  bid  you  a  long  farewell.  My  poor  Howell  and  Edward, 
will  you  remember  your  poor  father's  words ;  my  heart  bleeds 
for  you,  my  poor  dear  fellows,  lest  you  should  live  wickedly 
and  die  miserably — resolve  to  be  good  boys,  and  obey  your 
poor  dear  mother  in  all  things;  do  your  best  to  help  her,  in 
an  honest  way.  If  you  behave  well,  and  be  industrious,  you 
will  always  be  encouraged  by  good  people.  Never  associate 
with  idle,  wicked  company,  lest  you  come  to  the  unhappy 
end  of  your  unfortunate  father — my  poor  boys,  seek  and 
serve  the  Lord,  and  He  will  bless  you.  Oh!  that  He  will 
pity  your  youth  and  teach  you  His  ways — farewell,  my 
dear  fellows,  farewell!  Clerimon  and  Dolly,  little  Tommy 
and  Queen  Polly ;  dear  babes  and  children,  how  I  could  press 
you  to  my  bosom,  if  you  were  here;  but,  oh  no,  my  rough 
irons  would  hurt  your  tender  limbs.  Oh,  for  one  parting 
kiss  from  my  dear  children,  but  that  cannot  be;  I  am  to  die 
without  seeing  you;  then,  remember  what  your  dear  daddy 
says  to  you — be  good  children,  pray  to  God  every  day,  do 
what  your  mama  bids  you,  and  as  you  grow  up,  help  her 


394  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

with  all  your  might  to  provide  and  maintain  you  all  in  an 
industrious  way.  My  sweet  little  children,  I  am  not  fit  to 
bless  you,  but  I  hope  the  God  of  Mercy  will. 

My  blessed  wife,  if  you  have  had  another  child  since  I 
left  home,  let  it  also  know  my  fate  when  it  gets  old  enough, 
and  warn  it  thus  to  avoid  an  end  like  mine.  Tell  my  poor 
mother,  that  her  hapless  son  is  just  about  to  be  hurried  out 
of  this  world — I  expect  she  will  be  shocked  and  distressed, 
but  I  hope  God  will  support  her.  I  hope  my  brothers  and 
sisters  will  have  compassion  on  my  distressed  family,  and 
not  grudge  to  do  them  every  kindness  in  their  power — ^the 
Lord  will  reward  their  kind  hearts,  if  they  act  thus  and  also 
serve  Him.  I  here  bid  them  all  an  affectionate  farewell. 
My  dear  soul;  it  is  but  justice  that,  with  my  dying  hands,  I 
record  how  I  regard  you,  and  declare,  that  I  never  saw  a 
woman  on  whom  I  could  better  depend.  May  God  reward 
your  FAITHFULNESS. 

Let  Howell  be  bound  apprentice,  when  about  nineteen, 
to  some  trade;  let  him  have  his  choice.  If  you  ever  marry 
again,  bind  out  all  the  boys;  but  if  you  live  a  widow,  you 
cannot  do  without  them — keep  what  little  there  is  together, 
for  your  needy  rising  family.  And  now,  as  it  appears  prob- 
able that  we  shall  never  see  each  other  in  the  face  again  in 
this  world,  let  us  try  to  cast  ourselves  into  the  arms  of  God's 
mercy,  and  seek  His  favor,  that  we  may  be  allowed  to 
meet  in  a  happier  world  hereafter.  And  now,  my  dearest 
love,  how  shall  I  take  my  last  leave  of  you  on  earth!  Oh, 
how  shall  I  say  that  we  must  meet  no  more,  until  the  Heavens 
and  the  Earth  pass  away — ^there  must  we  meet  before  the 
JUDGMENT  SEAT !  How  can  I  bear  to  think  that  I  am 
dead  to  you  forever!  My  God,  support  my  wife — and,  oh, 
have  mercy  upon  her  wretched,  but  most  affectionate  hus- 
band. FREDERICK  BRIGGS." 

"P.  S.    The  time  appointed  for  our  execution,  is  the 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  395 

16th  October.  Keep  this  letter  to  show  to  the  children  as 
they  grow  up,  and  take  a  copy  of  it,  which  I  wish  you,  for 
my  sake,  to  read  often  to  them.  Farewell,  my  dearest  wife, 
farewell!  F.  Briggs." 


The  first  Order  in  this  case  stands  under  date  of  Tues- 
day, September  1,  1789,  as  follows:  "William  Mackelhany 
and  Frederick  Briggs,  late  of  the  Parish  of  Cornwall,  in  the 
County  of  Charlotte,  labourers,  who  stand  jointly  indicted 
for  felony,  were  led  to  the  Bar  in  the  custody  of  the  Jailor, 
and  thereof  arraigned  and  severally  pleaded  not  guilty  to  the 
indictment,  and  for  their  trial  put  themselves  upon  God 
and  their  country,  whereupon  an  jury,''  etc. 

They  were  then  remanded  to  jail,  and  on  the  9th,  Sep- 
tember, at  the  same  court,  the  following  entry  occurs :  "Wil- 
liam Mackelhany  and  Frederick  Briggs,  late  of  the  Parish 
of  Cornwall,  in  the  County  of  Charlotte,  labourers,  who  stand 
jointly  convicted  of  Horse  Stealing,  were  again  led  to  the 
Bar,  and,  being  asked  what  they  had  to  say  why  sentence 
of  Death  should  not  be  pronounced  against  them  according 
to  law,  severally  answered  they  had  nothing  to  say  further 
than  they  had  already  said.  Therefore  it  is  considered  by 
the  Court  that  the  said  William  Mackelhaney  and  Frederick 
Briggs,  for  their  offense  aforesaid,  be  severally  hanged  by 
the  neck  until  they  be  dead,  and  command  is  given  to  the 
Sheriff  of  Prince  Edward  County,  that  he  do  execution  of 
this  judgment  at  the  public  gallows  on  Friday  the  Sixteenth 
Day  of  October  next,  between  the  hours  of  ten  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  and  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon." 

And  it  was  done  accordingly. 


396  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

AN  OLD  COURT  ORDER 

The  following  page  of  an  old  Court  Order,  is  interesting, 
as  illustrative  of  the  method  of  doing  the  county  business 
at  that  time  in  vogue: 


"At  a  Court  in  the  County  of  Prince  Edward,  the  Twen- 
ty-ninth Day  of  November,  1754,  for  laying  County  levy. 

PRESENT:    John  Nash,  James  Wimbish,  David  Flour- 
noy,  James  Erwin,  and  Thomas  Haskins,  Gentlemen,  Justices. 

lbs.  Tobacco. 

To  the  Clerk,  for  his  Ex  Officio  1248 

To  the  Sheriff's  for  Ditto  1248 

To  Mr.  Clement  Read,  King's  Attorney  936 

To  John  LeNeve,  for  laying  off  Ten  acres  Land, 

Prison   bounds   350 

To  Honourable,  the  Secretary  for  Commission 
Peace  and  Dedimus  and  writ  of  election  of 
Burgesses  „ _.  357 


4139 


To  John  Le  Neve  for  two  Record  Books  at  43s 

each 
To  John  Le  Neve  for  one  Record  Book  at  26s 

£5.12.0 
To  Honourable,  the  Secretary  for  the  second 

Commission  of  the  Peace  and  Dedimus 112 


112 
To  John  LeNeve  for  sending  for  a  Commission 

of  the  Peace,  etc _ £1.10.0 

To  Richard  Washburn  for  one  old  Wolf's  Head 

certified  by  George  Walker  - 100 

To  Abraham  Baker  for  one  old  Wolf's  Head 

certified  by  James  AVimbish  - 100 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  397 

To  William  Searcey  for  one  young  Wolf's  Head 

certified  by  George  Walker  „ .~.    50 


250 


To  the  Sheriff  for  Sundry  Services,  Gross,  300  240 

To  the  Clerk  for  Sundry  Services,  Gross,  90 63 

To  Captain  Anderson,  for  Guarding  Abraham 

Womack  25  days,  750 

To  Captain  Anderson  for  Guarding  Timothy 

SuUivant  19  days,  _ - 570 

1623 


To  William  King,  17  days  Guard  over  Womack 

To  William  King,  6  Days  Guard  over  Chapman 690 

To  Joel  Stubblefield,  29  Days  a  Guard 870 

To  Alexander  LeGrand,  6  Days  a  Guard  180 

To  John  Philips,  6  Days  a  Guard  - 180 

1920 

To  Captain  Anderson,  for  the  use  of  his  kitchen 

as  a  Prison,  49  Days  - ,....jB4.0.0 

To  Captain  Anderson  for  changing  for  Court 

House 300 

300 
To  Mr.  Nash,  for  paid  John  Bentley,  Sending 

for  Books £2.10.0 

To    Eichard    Perryman,    for    Prison    Chimney 

£1  .6.0 
To  Captain  Anderson,  for  Labouring  Diet 
and  Time  £1.15.0 

£6.13.0 


398  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

To  Tobacco  to  be  sold  for  Discharge  Money  Debts  .-22593 
To  Sheriff's  Commission  at  six  per  cent  on  33040 1982 


33040 


To  the  County  Credit  by  826  Tithes  at  40  lbs.  per 

Pole  „ „ 33040 


Ordered  that  the  Sheriffs  of  this  County  Collect  of 
every  tithable  person  in  this  County,  40  pounds  Tobacco  per 
Pole,  and  in  case  of  non-payment,  to  Distrain. 

And  it  is  ordered  that  the  Sheriff  enter  into  Bond  next 
Court.  Mr.  John  Nash  is  appointed  to  receive  of  the  Sheriff 
of  this  County  22593  lbs.  of  Tobacco  as  Collected  and  Dispose 
of  the  Same  at  the  Best  Price  he  can  get,  and  that  he  account 
with  this  Court  for  the  same  when  required. — 
Jho.  Nash." 

It  will  be  observed  that  Tobacco  served  as  a  common 
medium  of  exchange,  doubtless  because  of  the  shortage  of 
money,  in  "those  good  old  days,"  hence  we  have  no  monopoly 
of  that  distressing  ailment. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  399 

WONDER  BOOKER 

WONDER  BOOKER,  celebrated  negro  character,  living 
in  the  County,  attained  the  advanced  age  of  126  years, 
dying  within  the  County  in  1819. 

He  was  a  slave  and  belonged  to  Mr.  George  Booker. 
He  received  the  name  "WONDER"  "from  the  circumstance 
that  his  mother  was  in  her  58th  year  at  he  time  of  his 
birth.  He  was  of  great  strength  of  body,  and  his  natural 
powers,  which  were  far  superior  to  those  of  color  in  gen- 
eral, he  retained  in  surprising  degree.  He  was  a  constant 
laborer  in  his  master's  garden  until  within  eight  or  ten  years 
of  his  death." 


A  notable  feature  of  the  minutes  of  the  early  days  of 
the  County,  contained  in  the  Order  Books  of  the  County 
Court,  is  the  large  space  given  to  cases  respecting  property 
rights  in  negro  slaves,  and  many  cases  of  felony  and  mis- 
demeanors committed  by  negroes.  That  all  was  not  an  un- 
clouded Paradise  in  the  days  of  slavery,  is  thus  made  very 
manifest,  for  then,  as  now,  a  disproportionate  part  of  the 
time  of  the  Court  was  taken  up  with  cases  arising  from  the 
colored  element  of  the  population. 


400  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

CROWN  DEED  FROM  GEORGE  THE  SECOND 

Doubtless  there  are  very  few  families  in  Prince  Edward 
County  in  position  to  boast  of  continuous  residence  upon 
land  devised  directly  from  the  British  Crown  in  the  days 
of  the  Georges,  Second  and  Third.  There  are  fewer  still 
who  have  retained,  and  can  produce,  the  original  Sheep- 
skin Deed. 

Numbered  amongst  these  few  are  the  Elams  of  the  western 
section  of  the  county.  Mr.  William  Carter  Elam  holds  title 
to  a  part  of  such  a  grant,  with  possession  of  the  original 
Crown  Deed,  written  on  genuine  "sheep-skin."  He  is  a 
direct  descendant  of  the  Lodwick  Elam  to  whom  the  grant 
was  made  and  the  property  so  devised  has  never  wanted  one 
of  that  descent  and  bearing  that  honorable  name,  to  own 
and  reside  upon  the  land.  He  owns,  lives  upon,  and  works, 
a  part  of  the  original  grant  which  has  never  been  out  of  the 
family.  Mr.  Elam's  post  office  address  is  Prospect,  Virginia. 
A  married  sister,  Mrs.  Robert  H.  Reynolds,  also  resides  upon 
another  section  of  the  original  grant. 

Two  parcels  of  land  were  devised  to  Lodwick  Elam; 
the  first,  containing  four  hundred  acres,  under  date  of  March 
20,  1745,  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  the  Second 
George;  the  second,  for  three  hundred  and  ninety-five  acres, 
bearing  date  of  May  23,  1763,  in  the  third  year  of  the  reign 
of  the  Third  George ;  the  king  of  the  Revolutionary  period. 

Believing  that  the  student  of  history  will  be  interested 
in  these  rare  documents,  we  have  vettitured  to  re-prod,uce 
the  earlier  one  of  the  two  deeds. 

"GEORGE  THE  SECOND,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  of 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland,  King,  Defender  of  the 
Faith,  &c.. 


History  of  Prince  Edioard  County  401 

TO  ALL  TO  WHOM  THESE  PRESENTS  MAY 
COME,  Greetings: 

KNOW  YE,  that  for  divers  good  causes  and  considera- 
tions, but  more  especially  for  and  in  consideration  of  the 
sum  of  FORTY  SHILLINGS,  of  good  and  lawful  money 
for  our  use  Paid  to  our  Receiver  General  of  our  Revenues 
in  this  our  Colony  and  Dominion  of  Virginia. 

WE  HAVE  Given,  Granted,  and  Confirmed,  and  by 
these  Presents,  for  us,  our  heirs  and  successors,  Do  Give, 
Grant,  and  Confirm  unto  Lodwick  Elam,  one  certain  Tract 
or  Parcel  of  Land  containing  Four  Hundred  Acres,  lying 
and  being  in  the  County  of  Amelia  on  the  Head  Branches 
of  the  North  Fork  of  Falling  Creek  and  bounded  as  fol- 
lows, to  wit: 

BEGINNING  at  a  corner  white  oak  on  the  north  side 
of  the  said  fork;  thence  South  eight  Degreesi,  West  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  Poles,  crossing  the  fork  to  a  corner 
red  oak.  Thence  West  eight  Degrees,  North  three  hundred 
and  eighty  Poles  to  a  comer  large  white  oak  in  a  Branch 
of  Vaughans  Creek,  Thence  North  eight  Degrees  East  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  Poles  to  a  Corner  white  oak,  Thence 
East  eight  Degrees  south  three  hundred  and  eighty  Poles  to 
the  beginning. 

WITH  ALL  Woods,  Underwoods,  Swamps,  Marshes, 
Low  Grounds,  Meadows,  Feedings,  and  his  due  share  of  all 
Veins,  Mines  and  Quarries,  as  well  discovered  as  not  dis- 
covered, within  the  bounds  aforesaid  and  being  Part  of  the 
said  Quantity  of  four  hundred  Acres  of  Land,  and  the 
Rivers,  Waters,  and  Water  Courses  therein  contained,  to- 
gether with  the  Privileges  of  Hunting,  Hawking,  Fishing, 
Fowling,  and  all  other  Profits,  Commodities,  Hereditaments 
whatsoever  to  the  Same  or  any  Part  thereof,  belonging,  or 
in  any  wise  appertaining. 


402  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

TO  HAVE,  HOLD,  Possess  and  Enjoy  the  said  Tract 
or  Parcel  of  Land  and  all  other,  the  before-granted  Premises 
and  every  Part  thereof  with  their  and  every  of  their  Appur- 
tenances unto  the  said  Lodwick  Elam,  and  to  his  Heirs  and 
Assigns  forever.  To  the  only  use  and  behalf  of  his,  the  said 
Lodwick  Elam,  his  Heirs  and  Assigns  forever, 

TO  BE  HELD  of  us,  our  Heirs  and  Successors  as  of 
our  Mannor  of  East  Greenwich  in  the  County  of  Kent,  in 
free  and  common  Soccage  and  not  in  Capite  or  by  Knights 
Service. 

YIELDING  AND  PAYING  unto  us,  our  Heirs  and 
Successors  for  every  fifty  Acres  of  Land  and  so  proportion- 
ately for  a  lesser  or  greater  Quantity  than  fifty  Acres,  the 
Fee  Rent  of  one  Shilling  Yearly,  to  be  paid  upon  the  Feast 
of  Saint  Michael  the  Arch  Angel  and  also  Cultivating  and 
Improving  three  Acres  Part  of  every  fifty  of  the  Tract 
above-mentioned  within  three  Years  after  the  Date  of  these 
Presents. 

PROVIDED  always  that  if  three  Years  of  the  said  Fee 
Rent  shall  at  any  time  be  in  Arrears  and  Unpaid,  or  if  the 
said  Lodwick  Elam,  his  Heirs  or  Assigns  do  not  within  the 
Space  of  Three  Years  next  coming  after  the  Date  of  these 
Presents,  Cultivate  and  Improve  three  Acres  Part  of  every 
fifty  of  the  Tract  above-mentioned,  Then  the  Estate  hereby 
Granted  shall  Cease  and  be  Utterly  Determined  and  there- 
after it  shall  and  may  be  Lawful  to  and  for  us,  our  Heirs 
and  Successors  to  Grant  the  same  Lands  and  Premises  with 
the  Appurtenances  unto  such  other  Person  or  Persons  as 
we,  our  Heirs,  and  Successors  shall  think  fit, 

IN  WITNESS  whereof  we  have  Caused  these  our  Let- 
ters Patent  to  be  WITNESS  our  Trusty  and  well-beloved  Wil- 
liam Gooch,  Esquire,  our  Lieutenant  Governor  and  Command- 
er-in-Chief of  our  said  Colony  and  Dominion  at  Williams- 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  403 


burgh,  Under  the  Seal  of  our  said  Colony,  the  twentieth 
Day  of  March,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-five, 
In  the  nineteenth  Year  of  our  Reign. — 

William  Gooch." 

(Endorsed  on  the   back,  "Lodwick   Elam's   Patent   for  400 
acres,  Amelia") 

The  reader  will,  of  course,  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that 
Prince  Edward  County  was  not  yet  divided  from  Amelia 
county;  that  was  done  by  act  of  1753;  the  property  above- 
described  was,  however,  situated  in  that  part  of  Amelia 
County  afterwards  cut  off  to  constitute  Prince  Edward 
County. 

But  little  punctuation  was  done  in  this  original  docu- 
ment, laboriously  transcribed  by  hand,  most  of  what  appears 
has  been  done  by  the  author  where  thought  necessary  to 
make  clearer  the  intent  of  the  patent. 

The  writing  was  done  in  splendid  penmanship  style  and 
remains  in  a  condition  of  remarkable  legibility  despite  the 
many  intervening  years. 


History  of  Prince  Edward  County  407 


BIBLIOaKAPHY 

The  following  books,  papers,  and  magazines  have  been 
called  into  requisition  in  preparation  of  this  work: 

Howes'   "Historical   Collections   of   Virginia." 

Chandler  and  Thames'  "Colonial  Virginia." 

McDonald's  "Life  in  Old  Virginia." 

Kidpath's  History  of  the  United  States. 

Henning's  "Acts  of  the  Legislature." 

State  Library  Papers  on  the  House  of  Burgesses  and 
Delegates. 

State  Library  List  of  Revolutionary  Soldiers  of  Vir- 
ginia, 1912. 

Virginia  State  Library,  Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Library  Board  and  State  Librarian,  1911,  1912. 

McAllister's  "Virginia  Militia  of  the  Revolutionary 
War." 

Virginia  Historical  Magazine. 

Captain  John  Smith's  History  of  Virginia.  Two  vol- 
umes. 

Meade's  "Old  Churches  and  old  Families  of  Virginia." 

Foote's  "Sketches  of  Virginia." 

John  Randolph's  Address.     The  war  of  1812. 

McGuire  and  Christian,  "The  Confederate  Cause  and 
Conduct  in  the  War  Between  the  States." 

"The  Rebellion:  Official  Records  of  the  Union  and  Con- 
federate Armies." 

"William  and  Mary  College." 

Adams'  "Thomas  Jefferson  and  the  University  of  Vir- 
ginia." 


408  History  of  Prince  Edward  County 

"The   Virginian."     Normal   School,   Farmvidle,   1909. 
Sarah  Dorsey's,  "Recollections  of  Henry  Watkins  Allen." 
Tyler's  "Life  of  Patrick  Henry." 
"The  Life  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston." — 
"A  Sketch  of  Dr.  John  Peter  Mettauer  of  Virginia." 
Dr.  G.  B.  Johnson. 

Jeter's  "Life  of  Daniel  Witt,  D.  D." 
Bennett's  "History  of  Methodism." 
Semple's  "Baptists  in  Virginia." 

Unitel  State  Census  reports;  Department  of  Agriculture 
"Handbook  of  Virginia";  Files  of  the  "Farmville  Herald"; 
"Manual  of  West  Hanover  Presbytery;"  etc.  etc. 

And,  in  addition,  I  am  gratefully  indebted  to  generous 
help  received  from  Dr.  H.  R.  Mcllwaine,  State  Librarian  of 
Virginia;  Dr.  W.  A.  Harris  of  Richmond  University;  Judge 
G.  J.  Hundley,  Farmville;  Judge  J.  M.  Crute,  Farmville; 
Mrs.  Roberta  H.  Large;  Senator  Robert  K.  Brock;  Dr.  J. 
D.  Eggleston,  President  of  Hampden-Sidney  College;  Mrs. 
George  Ben  Johnson,  Richmond;  Dr.  J.  L.  Jarman,  State 
Female  Normal  School,  Farmville;  to  the  State  Officers,  and 
to  a  kindly  host  of  friends,  who  in  various  ways  have  as- 
sTsted  in  the  compilation  of  this  work. 

The  County  Records  and  Deed  Books,  which  were  found 
to  be  in  a  remarkably  good  state  of  preservation,  have  been 
most  diligently  searched,  in  which  arduous  labor  most  cheer- 
ful and  timely  assistance  was  rendered  by  Mr.  Horace  Adams, 
County  Clerk,  and  Mr.  Gordon  E.  West,  Deputy  County 
Clerk. 

FINIS. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

RENEWALS  ONLY— TEL.  NO.  642^405 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subjea  to  immediate  recall. 


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General  Library 

University  of  California 

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